There will be a memorial service

I didn't expect

The nurses

And countless other
Grieving mothers
My anguish mirrored
In the faces of strangers

I didn't expect
A tiny white coffin
Carried from a hearse
To a freshly dug hole in
The ground
I was horrified

I didn't expect
My legs to hold
The heavy burden I carried
On that wet November morning
I didn't expect
This pain

I didn't expect the anger
That followed
Jealous of every
Expectant mother
The silence from others
Reluctant to comfort

I didn't expect
The sadness, that followed
I just couldn't speak
Grief is hard to swallow
I thought I would shatter
Into a million pieces

I didn't expect
In that little room
Our world to cave in
When she parted her lips
And out those words slipped
I'm sorry there's
No heart beat. 

LH 2022