Breastfeeding

She was sitting on the low concrete wall, right at the back of the beach underneath the cliffs. She was alone with the baby snuggled at her breast. She had the whole beach spread out and bare before her, and the sea stretching out to the horizon.

But she was there, contained within her own universe, centred on just her and her child. Everything beyond them was indifference. Everything that mattered centred on that point where breast met mouth and was contained within her encircling arms and body. The baby was still her. They were connected together still.

I was there, outside their world, passing by, looking in… then away. I could not belong. I had no place. All I had was kept outside the world they would dwell in for the rest of their lives.