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Flowers arranged in bottles
Photo by James Cousins on Unsplash

Poetry | July/August 2022

Viable

By Rebecca Faulkner

I lost my appetite                 bled
through wool tights		              cut 
my teeth on white
              plastic chairs 		
in the waiting room	        crouched 
beneath             my shame	               deep 
as the hospital sink	        dodged
                ticking clocks 		
& your eyes at the door urging 
patience	            while the nurse empties		
the mess I've made	
               of motherhood

Tagged: July/August 2022

2 replies on “Viable”

csays:
July 22, 2022 at 12:21 am

This gave me goosebumps and reminded me of my own loss many years ago. And the nurse at the hospital saying “It wasn’t really a baby”.

Reply
Michelle Kellysays:
September 25, 2024 at 4:43 pm

Extraordinary and devastating. You can feel and hear silence at the end of this poem.

Reply

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