Poetry

Embrace

The moment I first hear his words
I fall into a daze
The shock clouding all my senses
Tears blur my vision like a haze

I should be scared of dying
Yet the thing I cannot stand
Is the fear I see in my mother’s eyes
As she tenderly holds my hand

Since that ominous verdict
When I learnt that I was sick
She has been there beside me
For every needle jab and prick

She feels my hurt and pain
As if it were her own
Still joined as one body
Although I’m fully grown

She wishes she could make me safe
My mother, full of grace
As though I never left her womb
The hurt she would erase

She cradles me in her arms
Her soft hands caress my face
I savour this sweet moment
Of my mother’s warm embrace

I’ve only ever wanted
To be a mother just like mine
To conceive and bear children
Play my part in life’s grand design

I wonder if I will ever
Bring life into this world
Get the chance to hold
My newborn baby boy or girl

The threat of infertility
Is out of my control
The pride and joy of motherhood
My dream that cancer stole