baby gone sad

in memory of Emilia Lucille Locke, born May 24, 2020 — we love you forever.
in honour of Josh, Jacqueline & Jasper — we love you forever, too.

i

clothes piled high
curated under watchful eye
florals, frills, and fluttering butterflies
dreams snuggled so close
like wisps of warm breath exhaled on your neck

ii

yet crib lies
empty
blanket folded neatly 
at the end
of the mattress

longing for a tangled mess
the weight of waiting for shards
to become whole again
colours the rays of light
seeping through the slats
in the blue of betrayal

iii

but the cruelty of this broken
world cannot steal
what her perfect
body did reveal
mama’s full head of hair
dada’s pouty lips
little j’s button nose
chubby cheeks casting
three into four
strands of DNA interwoven
the joining of generations
in one-of-a-kind wonder

her eyes did not open to the world
but she was enveloped in the endless sea
of a mother’s love
her worries soothed by the gentle voice of dad
her joy made complete by the sounds of j
the giggling gemstone

iv

today outstretched arms remain
ready to cradle
the body, too
—a will of its own—still reaches out
the caress of nurture enclosing
upon itself finding
only the barren
chill of the hinterlands

curse that flatline
path has become far from straight
leaving behind a destination that never came
each would-be beat of life
missed in the jagged
edges of loss

v

no fear of fading memories
a trio’s love will never forget
even in the dormancy of winter
the magnolia will bloom forth
in hope of the Eternal Spring

**baby  gone  sad was inspired by the courageous and vulnerable posts of Jacqueline Locke. May none of us grieve alone.

Written by Scott Moore
Illustrated by Landon Wideman

Inspired Summer 2020