The Miscarriage Poem by Steven Polinsky

I shook when I got the message to call home
She had been bleeding off and on for three months
Scared
I rushed home to find her trying to rest
A disappointed feeling moved through me
A dull sense of impending loss
She was more important than the unborn fetus
I kissed her
Assured her
Told her how much I loved her
More than anyone in the World
In the Doctor's office
We sat-staring blankly at the pregnant women
Both thinking WHY?
Feet in stirrups-alcohol smells
Antiseptic visions
Spongy blood clots
Tension-tension mounting
Doctor saying miscarriage
Coagulated missed conception!
Disorganized freak of god damned nature
We will do a D and C
Dilation and curetment of my Darlings womb
Scraping disposal of malformed tissue
That might have been
That might have had a name
That might have grown up
Been ours
In spirit may we soon meet you
We would have given you our most precious love