constructing poetry

Baby's First Christmas

after the cradle
and the room
she’d decorated so hopefully
in yellows and whites
were reduced to boxes,

still, at odd times
something would jog her memory
making her eyes burn
her breath catch,
her arms ache with the weight
she would never hold—

the dance of light
over some random baby
laughing at the air,

the song of lullabies drifting near
as she walked past
the toy store,

the ornament marked
‘Baby’s First Christmas’—bought
in anticipation, before—
slipping from her fingers,
landing in shards on the floor,
blurring in the flood
from her heart, released again.

line count: 24

Prompt 7 ▼

Theme: Shattered Ornament
Words to use: shard, dance, memory, heart
Forbidden words: the word 'a', bounce, roll, crash, red, green, broken
Additional parameters: At least 20 lines.