You Were My Child

Only short weeks I had felt you: a new life stirring, a wonder inside me; my greatest joy, my longed-for treasure: My Child! For so long, I had hoped. Then, in a moment, you were gone, without warning, as if you had never been. The only reminder, the aching in my heart, the stillness in my womb. You were barely a whisper only I could hear: loud enough to hope, loud enough to dream. You were so tiny there was no picture of you, no ultrasound to keep among your baby things. People might say my loss was insignificant; there are much greater losses than mine. Of course. But loss is immeasurable to the one who has lost: When you return, at a later time, another mother's womb will be waiting. You will fit more snugly this time. The mother will wrap her heart around you and you will know love. One day, you will become my memory; I will speak of you and there will be no tears. But, for those brief days I held you in my heart, our souls embraced, you were my child.