Serena Malcolm

To my children not yet born;
Goodbye.
I will think of you,
I will dream of you,
I will miss you,
I will mourn you,
I will carry your silken
memories
in the furrows of my face
as I cry for you.
Goodbye.
To my children not yet born;
I am sorry.
I cannot be your mother,
I cannot rock you,
I cannot kiss your bruises,
I cannot read you stories,
I cannot watch you grow,
I cannot see my hopes
for you spun into the
fabric of your
grown up lives,
I have failed you.
I am sorry.
To my children not yet born;
I love you.
Though I never heard you
speak
those words to me,
Though I never saw
your smiles,
Though I never smelled
your hair,
Though I never felt
the press
of your perfect lips
against the
sallowness
of my cheek.
I loved you.
I love you.
I will love you
evermore.