MELISSA ANNE

         

I knew you
as you grew
beneath my heart
sickness gagging my throat? 
We tried out names
dreamed, planned
until you struggled
too soon from the womb. 

Faces pressing
againest the nursery pane. 
We cried out why? 
Watching...
Your translucent chest gasp
each trembling breath. 
Words were mumbled
in hopeless prayers. 
We never felt
your velvet skin, 
or fragile fingers
wrapping around our own. 
Were your eyes blue? 
Did they open to see
your sterile cubicle? 
Twentythree short hours
A cry of angels
whispered in your ear.

You became a silent
question mark
curled in death
asking why?
A metal marker
tarnishing in desert sun
will chant your passing.
Longing sometimes
brushes our minds
for a daughter
that couldn't stay.