I was entombed in the womb but with a jolt I was soon
Agonizingly removed from that place.
I entered through portals to join other mortals,
And around me my soul was encased;
In a body that felt all the raw elements,
Of hunger, of heat, and of cold.
I prayed that my maker would never forsake me
But continue to look after my soul.
As I entered the light and foresaw my plight
I felt such despair that I cried.
I was filled with such fear of the cruel world out there
On this, the day that I died!

I was enshroud on a cloud
And my soul was endowed
But my body remained back on earth.
For here in God's keeping your deeds do the reaping
And your body has no heavenly worth.
It is left back in the torrent of travail and torment
With the grievers bemoaning you fate.
Oh, how they would cease if they knew of my peace
And be happy for my tranquil state.
But they never will know, while they're down below
They will only continue to mourn.
But now I have passed,
Into this new world at last,
On this, the day I was born.

Claire Levitt
Trenton, NJ