Stillborn

It was time.

For 9 months I had carried you around in my stomach;

I had cooed over adorable dresses and booties and pored over ‘Parenting for Dummies’,

Chosen the essential accessories and converted the guest bedroom into a nursery,

All ready for your arrival.

Now it was time for you to be brought into this world

Time for you to start your exhilarating journey on this crazy and wonderful planet.

 

As I lay in the hospital bed I tried to ignore the excruciating pain and “just kept pushing” as the midwife told me.

Because very soon, the agony would be worth it-

I would get to see your sweet, angelic face and hold your tiny, delicate body in my arms,

I would get to hear that high-pitched wail that would mean you were finally alive…

But, you didn’t cry.

Reviews

[sonnie ibadah]

this is so moving...what a nightmare this must have been. you've managed to take us along your excitement for having a baby then down your road of sorrow for losing him. very touching...

[Abeer until dawn]

your write is very moving, very great to be able to put your wistful words of a shocking reality in sucha beautifully creative put!

[Tennessee]

This is something I'm sure no pregnant woman or her husband wants to hear. The small halfway cliffhanger allows us to think about what this mother would be thinking after her child died by using the clues from what she was thinking before her child was born. I met a guy the other day who was all worried because at 6 am that morning his wife had told him she was pregnant. He said his wife had another kid from her other marriage but that the child was basically his. He was a nervous wreak as a year she had been pregnant and they lose the kid, stillborn. He was just praying the baby would be healthy. He told me this all within five minutes of us meeting each other, funny I still don't know his name. It seems like no matter who we are or even whether or not we like kids no one wants to deliver a dead baby.

[Lyn Anderson]

Chilling. Compelling. Moving. Not something someone who is pregnant ever wants to think about, that is for sure. As for the style, I would suggest removing the passive past tense, as in I carried, I cooed, etc.

[Daisy Morgy]

wow that was realy strong and powerfull, amazing write!!!

[Ruth]

Oh my....sometimes a poem touches me and is hard to leave a comment, just know this was felt x

[Vidya Bacchus]

This is just so sad I have no words.Great write as usual.

[Neon]

Very nice transformation of reality into the words. Yeah! Very well penned write. You've a great talent of converting the pain, the feelings into the words. Nice work.

[Michelle N. H.]

One of my cousin's was a stillborn. You touched me with this. "But, you didn't cry", a perfect end to the poem.

[Laura Harrison]

I'm so sorry to hear that :(

[Michelle N. H.]

That's nice. It's a sad affair, a tough one to handle, for the closest family in particular. You captured the excitement before giving birth to new life very well, and I really like how the poem ends abruptly. As a reader it makes me sense the shock.

[Laura Harrison]

Thank you :)

[Michelle N. H.]

You're certainly very welcome :)