
Sympathetic Labor
.
I saw the
Watery Bag,
Crossed with
Scarlet Streams
In her slender hand.
Empty glistening pools,
Black and red,
Stared back at once
Expectant faces.
Friends whispered
Tender eulogies,
But made no mention
Of the dead.
Rather,
It was the rain
Which swam from
Muddy rivers
To the seas
That gently laid
A child to rest
In distant places.
.
- Lona Gynt, March 1992.
.
Posted for dVerse Open Link Night hosted by Linda. Here is the link.
.
.
All rights for text reserved to Lona Gynt, August, 2020.

Wow, such a sad and moving piece. It’s absolutely visceral and it brought some tears to my eyes. Wow…
LikeLiked by 1 person
thank you Lucy. Much love dear
LikeLiked by 1 person
Tender, beautiful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very welcome Lona.
LikeLiked by 1 person
So very sad — and a bit of a gut punch. I’ve been there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was a grief that is so often unrecognized with any normative resolutions, I am sorry that you have been there. Thank you 🙏
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh my, your spirit baby.
I imagine she’s holding you in her heavenly glass heart too. So much love to you, my dear.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Amaya. This was written at the time of our first pregnancy, we subsequently had 8 pregnancies, 3 survived to term, 2 to adulthood. Each loss is a grief, each one allowed to stay a joy, but they are all blessings
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks for recognizing this unique grief with tenderness. I lost two sisters and my first grandchild to miscarriage…carried in our hearts instead.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Much love
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is very moving writing and the imagery shocks but is an issue not always fully spoken about and the grief needs to be shared. You show strength in this and seeing each soul as a blessing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you 💕
LikeLike
Touching, as a loss like this must be.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you my friend 💕
LikeLiked by 1 person
A beautiful poem. I can relate. My sweet London. The pain never truly goes away. Time brings peace.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes it does, life is a blessing.
LikeLike
Oh, this is so sad. If this is written from experience then I am so sorry for your loss and pain.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, it was written 28 years ago. I still remember the shift from joy to loss. Other blessings followed but they do not truly diffuse the meaning of a loss.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lona, I know about loss all too well and when some people say it fades, I don’t know. I think it just sits back and lets you live a little before popping back up now and again to remind you its there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is so true Christine. 💕
LikeLiked by 1 person
All of the pain and grief we are expected to bear gets heavy sometimes. You’re right the meaning of such loss is never fully diffused. Love and empathy to you, Lona ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Lisa
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are welcome.
LikeLiked by 1 person
So tender and poignant.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Linda 💕
LikeLiked by 1 person
Touching, sad, and visceral, as Lucy said. A grief that is not always recognized. I’m sorry you and your wife went through this.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Merril
LikeLiked by 1 person
So sorry for the grief this poem represents, and much admiration for your insight and and ability to absorb the blessing of the loss. God bless!
LikeLiked by 1 person
If we shut ourselves off from grief, then we are shutting ourselves off from so much in life that is meaningful, I am not saying that we should focus on it or live there all the time, but love is the same coin as love, grief happens because there is love or, in this case, expectation. I would trade neither in order to avoid grief. I am not sure if we so much absorb grief as much as simply come to live in its meaning. Thank you Beverley, you are right, there were blessings, even in this corner.
LikeLike
Very sorry for your loss, Lona. This was a powerful and deeply emotional read. I’ve found grief to be an ongoing process I’m navigating all the time. No matter how much time has past, I’m still navigating. It ebbs and flows. Much love, MW
LikeLiked by 1 person
that is true, it is with us, we just don;t always travel in it. thank you for your appreciation!
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is so heavy with sorrow… I wonder if we have the power to mourn as much as is needed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am not sure there is any set amount of mourning for a need, is it a dram or a gallon? What is does the concept of need mean in this context? Is the need accomplished when the grief stops? I don’t think so my dear friend, becasue then we would be trading in love and expectations to let the grief slip away, we don’t have power, that is true, we just are, floating along inside our loves and griefs and joys and losses, right? There was a true heaviness, and sorrow, I read the original drafts, and they were 5 pages long full of dreams about a child slipping away and calling out to me etc. Those were palpable, and heavy, but I am glad I stripped it down to the essence, I think it makes it more universal? I don’t know. It was 28 years ago, and I still hope to get to know the child I expected and wanted to know. It is so strange, but wonderful too. Thank you Bjorn, you are always appreciated here.
LikeLike
Grief is another form of love and your poem’s pain speaks of the love. Has writing helped you in dark times?
Thank you for sharing this experience so openly and beautifully.
Ali
LikeLiked by 1 person
yes, and writing also helps me to appreciate the joyous times as well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes!
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is absolutely beautiful.
So sorry for your loss, I just wrote a couple things on my page if you’d like to read. I lost my baby two days ago. 💔 you’re welcome to share them. I also have two older ones on my blog I can find for you if you’d like
LikeLike