Empty Arms Poem by Linda Hill

Silent tears fall
On a white sterile gown
Shadows lurking
They don’t make a sound
Mothers passing
Laughing in the hall
Beaming Dad’s
Standing proud and tall
No one notices my
Dark, lonely room
The shades pulled down
Trying to hide the gloom

Empty arms aching
I will never be the same
On this cold day in hell
When the doctors came
Such grief on their faces
I knew my baby had died
My heart shattered
As I broke down and cried
A baby boy I heard
One of the doctors say
My heart grew numb
As they turned away

Everyone is hurrying
How can this be
When this pain is
So deep inside of me
How can everything go
On just like before
When I can’t hold my baby
Or feel anymore
In anquish I scream
In despair I cry
How can life be so cruel
To let my baby die

Leaving the hospital
In a worn old wheelchair
I hang my head
As the mother’s stare
The hardest thing
That I’ve ever done
Is going out these doors
Without my son

© Linda Hill