birth

I was once an egg too.

Inside myself for insulation,

round and bloody.

I always thought 

hatching would be 

more like a somersault.

I grow quicker 

than I can peck 

my way out—or in.

I ask my parents 

to smile for me

one last time 

before I make a mess 

of all this hope.

Natasha Wein is an artist raised in the San Francisco Bay Area now working out of the tiny town of Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Her writing parallels her painting process and has featured in her art exhibits since 2017.