Microchimeric Lament
For the embryo that never made it, stuck
Empty snowstorm of grey on a screen,
Fimbriae no longer wafting, but bursting
Womb unable to receive.
For the name never bestowed, ‘Ona’
Wave, in either tongue a bitter taste
Haunting bloom, cells carried within me,
Scrub beyond the hospital window.
For the empty cot in a sterile room, fecund
Corridors of women who have endured
Cries of new life, as another departed,
The dawning our project has failed.
For this feeling of dislocation, ectopia
Blessing of nurses and doctors without
The language, gratitude for the welfare
Of women, cradle to grave within.
Cover of Write Out Loud 20th Anniversary Anthology: Echoes.
Going tangent to #PoemsAbout #SilentPlanets to write about the void, orbiting & silence around reproductive trauma.
This poem was published in the #WriteOutLoud anthology & I want to share it here to spark the conversations that so rarely happen.
@alanparrywriter.co.uk @thebrokenspine.co.uk