My Child
Liz Delaney
There was a phone call,
and then a knock upon my door.
Their presence there. . . an attempt to relieve.
They told me that you were “no more.”
I listened, I heard. . . but could not conceive.
Surely the words i feel, and the images I see
were only meant to deceive.
A childlike smile, murmurs of your voice,
Catches of laughter I can still perceive.
Heartbeats had been played to me. Once bonded,
our union could never be cleaved.
A thousand caresses. Unconditional love.
I watched your dreams become achieved.
Though you grew and aspired,
lived and desired,
I knew you would never leave.
Yet, a careless gesture, a text, or a drink
Fatefully unravelled, did a love unweave.
My beautiful gift cannot be gone.
The crumbs of life are all that’s left . . .
I have been so naive.
Too many thoughts,
Feelings of love have been lost.
The nurturer becomes the bereaved.
