Happy Poetry Friday! Ruth, at her blog, There is No Such Place as a God-forsaken Town, is hosting us today from Uganda! Thank you, Ruth! You seem to have a lot going on! I appreciate you taking the time to host Poetry Friday!
Today is my 1900th post on this blog! I’ve been writing daily since February 2017. That’s a lot of words, folks! And I’ve learned so much from so many, growing as a writer with each word I type!
In celebration of that milestone, I asked some of my FaceBook friends what they wanted me to write about today. While I didn’t get a lot of suggestions, those I got both said a personal narrative was what they enjoy reading from me.
So, earlier today I wrote a serious personal narrative. It’s on a subject I’ve been meaning to write about for a while – miscarriage. After I wrote it, I had my husband read the piece to make sure he was okay with me sharing about our experiences. It is his story, too. He graciously agreed to let me share it.
And while it isn’t poetry, I did not want to miss today – the last Poetry Friday in April! We’ve all worked so hard on the Progressive Poem and I wanted to thank everyone for their inspired lines. I am proud to be part of this piece! I cannot wait to read how it ends up!
Next, I looked for poems in the public domain about miscarriage. I found little that I could share. Those available are still under copyright. Some are beautiful and you can check out these pages if you want.
https://poets.org/poem/miscarriage
https://www.tracimccombs.com/post/miscarriage-poems
But, it prompted me to write a haiku-type poem about our miscarriages. I hope you read my narrative piece as well – I will warn you that it is long. So, if you do not have time, here is my Modern Haiku (It does not follow the 5-7-5 pattern but is still very brief).
Here is the link to my other piece:
I saw last night that it is also Poem in Your Pocket Day. I had a fun time two years ago when I participated in this and wrote a poem of appreciation to some of the educators my boys had over the years. I’ll have to mark the day for next year. It is a nice remembrance. I saw some librarians and classroom teachers on Twitter doing some neat things with a Poem in Your Pocket.
Who wouldn’t want to carry around some nice words?!
The Apples in My Orchard 
Your haiku about miscarriage speaks a truth. Loss is loss. I didn’t ever have one but 2 of my 3 daughters have and I was right there with them through the pain and to the joy of rainbow babies. I’ll read your longer piece later.
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Thank you, Margaret.It helps to know that people can relate to these experiences. I’m glad you could be there for your daughters during a most difficult time in their lives. A mom’s love is so special.
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Carol, I followed the other link first and read your narrative post. My heart ached for you. We had one miscarriage in between our two daughters (and fertility drugs to get pregnant the first time). Your dr’s clinical response sucked, frankly. Thank you for sharing your experience and this beautiful haiku about the babies who weren’t to be born. Sending hugs. (And I totally get the jealousy, and the not wanting to tell anyone about your 3rd pregnancy, and the pretending. What a wrenching time that trip must’ve been.)
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Laura, Thank you for reading my post on miscarriage. You and others have confirmed that it is, unfortunately, a common occurrence. I am sorry for your loss as well. I appreciate all your kind words. It was so long ago, but was a significant series of moments in my life.
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Thank you for sharing this deeply personal but important story. Your haiku captures the pain and the loss.
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Thank you, MaryLee.
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