I feel an emptiness
Inside of me
Once filled by a heartbeat
I feel the brokenness
Inside of me
I never knew existed
Before devastation
Went and tainted
My womb with poison kisses
I feel the depth of sad
The hurt and mad
Emotions of grief within
This is a revelation
This is my portrait of salvation
Lost behind an infant’s cry
Unborn yet burnt so alive
I am the mother, harbor
Safeguard that failed yet tried
Hear my angel cry
I heard the sun die
Falling to the west side
Born east, dragged across skies
Blood red sunset eyes
Blinking, mourning into mine
I was the one to hide
The child from reapers
But fell us both blind
Splitting bloodbaths wide
I shed fleshful tears
For life lost years
A mother never earned past fear
I feel rivers of blood splash in here
Author’s note: Roe v. Wade being overturned finally gave me peace. It’s strange, I know, as on the political spectrum I am otherwise extremely to the left. I had two miscarriages and still feel my kids deserved an equal freedom to live. My first loss was my 7½ months’ pregnancy with my son, Bravery Airik-Mari, when I was 14 and survived rape. When I lost him, I lost all hope. Then another miscarriage in 2022. This poem is dedicated to unborn lives lost. I always wonder, “What if …”