They all say “it will be beautiful”
but no one said
how silence can deafen.
.
A routine appointment
turned into so much more.
Meeting you early
was not the plan.
.
I was a storm of questions,
belly stretched tight.
What if I break?
What if you do?
Why can I no longer keep you safe?
.
I stared into blue eyes,
A hand gripping tight.
Beeping monitors, scrambling feet,
your heartbeat
slowing.
Slowing.
Gone.
.
Time twisted.
Pain blurred.
I remember a hand
gripping me tight.
.
I remember the doctor’s eyes.
The rush. The fear.
I remember not breathing.
Praying.
Believing.
.
Then.
you.
.
A small squeal
Then a loud cry
My walls came down.
Hard.
Fast.
.
They placed you
on my chest,
skin to skin,
heart to heart.
And in that moment,
the world stood still.
No doctors, no monitors.
Just you.
.
You didn’t know my name.
But you knew me.
I had never met you.
Yet I knew you.
Strangers
And yet so much more.
.
You blinked.
I wept.
The room was quiet
except for new love
learning how to breathe.
Emilie Turner 