held in mother arms
too soon
rocked by a body
she should be
joined to still
by that rope of blood
now cut
pushed
from weightless swimming
into light
before eyes are ready for it
to air before lungs
can use it
gasping for & grasping
in small fingers
this 15 minutes
her lifetime
yes, loved;
yes, named,
but sucking useless air
& gone
how do you stand
in this circled hurt
& call this right?
you stand in a place
where God belongs
& call this His will
when
if there was room for it
mercy could have
held all of them tightly
through this
first mourning
& one passing perhaps
through no pain at all
though she was without breath
from the beginning
& therefore voiceless
her suffering shouts loudest of all.
Susan Daniels Poetry 
Well done, Susan, well done.
Choice should reside with the one person who knows her body best. Let no one impose such horror. And least of all, have the common decency to keep from public sharing outlook declaring the outcome worked as intended.
Exactly. Very well said, Nelle. This kind of pain should NOT. EVER. be legislated. Such an intensely personal thing should remain such–between the woman and her doctor–not the woman, her doctor, and the state.
Yes.
This is sad, so intensely sad.Neonatal mortality marks mothers so indelibly – and creates a void that howls to be filled Your lines are strong and the imageries very powerful. This poem leaves some moisture in these aging eyes of mine!
Thanks, Noel–mine too–the story behind this is so very, very sad. When I read it today, it brought this out.
Tears can’t wash the pain in my heart reading this~ thank you.
Thank you