I have seen them, gravid
& walking with the honey heaviness
of mothers round as plums,
ripe & stretched over fullness
& eager to meet what kicks
beneath their hands
they have felt fluttering
in the domes of their bellies,
laughed with those turns
& learned new heartbeats
threading under their own,
a welcome otherness
but here, underneath scars
that tethered us…
We must all join the fight against Maternal and Infant Mortalities. Susan's poem is one more voice calling for joined up action.
Noel, thank you so much for reblogging. The lives lost to this cry out for action, even as we try to console the families impacted.