while she sleeps
the last newborn of the year arrives
followed by the first of the next

in her dream
two women she doesn’t recognize
give birth in her living room

the fathers wear New Year’s Eve
party hats and blow noisemakers
to cheer on everything

that might end or begin
in the next few moments / empty
bottles of champagne roll

down the street without smashing
or waking her / a cardinal sneezes
from a giant tree in the backyard

out front three young foxes
watch the miracle
through a giant picture window

even the explosion
of fireworks over the lake
doesn’t scare them off

those screams that could turn
a dream inside out
a nightmare outside in