She perches restfully
against a January morning
whose ground is still
cobwebbed with leaf fall, shivering
as the sun goes down
in his eyes, their fever’s fire
dark and gone. Swaddled
in the quilt where they had
sought refuge together
from the bitter cracks
in the old stone walls,
his limbs now shake no longer,
consigned to an earth his soul will never
know and a cradle-sized casket
set two feet deep
from daylight, the distance
between headstone
and footstone not half the length
of their old kitchen table.
The wind sings nursery rhymes
that settle deep in her marrow
with an awful finality; there
is an ache in her breasts and
a hole two feet deep
in the place where her heart
should beat.
the tenth muse 
although this seems to be a poem about a lover..it reminded me of when my baby daughter died back in 1972..so sad.
but very well written. you sure got my attention. 🙂
i’m so sorry to hear about your daughter… your instincts were right on: this poem actually was about an infant death–a mother losing her baby son. thanks for stopping by, and for sharing.
jsl
Chilling
Strong images, sensations to this – effective.
Chilling indeed. Thanks Ray, Steve.
Best,
jsl
Thanks for sharing. Intense. Very good. Veru thoughtful, expressive……
I found this very powerful. I had a two foot hole by the time I was done.
“the wind sings nursery rhymes that settle deep in her marrow” sends chills. for me, that’s best of well-writen piece. thanks for sharing
Melissa– what a nice surprise! Thank you. and you should blog more often 🙂
Carl– truly said; can’t think of anything more heartwrenching than the death of a child. appreciate your words and your stopping by.
Monty– thanks. i really like the imagery of that line myself. appreciate the visit.
jsl
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Wow. I couldn’t catch my breath after reading this. Stunning imagery that evokes a quiet I didn’t know existed in me. Thank you. 🙂