Poem for Emily

I wrote this when I was pregnant, probably around December 2003...


I thought of the minutes before
they said something was wrong,
when all was perfection
and I'd expected
the world
would let me be lucky
a bit longer.
But this is not my misfortune,
though I weep like it is.

No, this is not my misfortune
I'll remind myself
when I imagine your face
how I wanted it to be.
Whole, in the gentle light
of the birthing room.
I'm so sorry for that false vision
that comes even now
as I learn to love the beauty
of your true face.

When the light hits your face
in four months
we'll all realize
a new definition of perfect.


by Jacqueline Dooley