On the twenty-sixth day of National Poetry Month, I have a little poem about losing a child. In a rough world, I have no doubt that this happens with depressingly frequent occurrence and I still see the lost of those around me who have lost their own children over the years. There really isn't a way I can't write about it.

This may also be inspired by a video I stumbled on years ago while browsing the Internet. It still haunts me.

A Child On a Bed So Soft

a child on a bed so soft
eyes open but no longer seeing
her hand no longer grasps my thumb
fingers slack and splayed

a child on the deck so cold
the sea washing around us
my foot holding her hair down
to avoid our grief being stolen

a child wrapped in canvas
my mother's first blanket
my father's cherished belt
my tears on her chest

a child bobbing in the waves
face washed with salt
dress billowing in waves
the sea holding her tight

a child lost in the waves
one ribbon floating in the water
one aching hole in my heart
and a mother who will never not cry