Silent Departure

A poem

You slipped away before we ever heard your first cries, a bud plucked before it could bloom.

No fleeting glance to memorize your face, only dreams of what could have been.

Your muted absence echoes in empty halls, aching arms with no child to hold, a heart waiting for first kicks.

We never knew you, yet grieve the loss, a sweet peach stolen before the first sweet bite.

You are our ghost, both here and not. We imagine your laughter, whisper goodnight.

Perhaps this work of grief is the true birth, we cradle your memory, tenderly learn

how to mother the child not meant for this world.