*

The loss that I felt that day
I could not shake with a “sorry.”
I did not want to, anyway,
for the sorrow, my heart will always carry.

The nights came and went,
and I didn’t know if they started or finished,
in bed, asking my slumber to extend, numbing my senses,
wishing my tears to vanish.

I saw my emptiness multiply, as my body got ready to
nourish the child for whom now I cry,
for she is a pearl I’ll always cherish.

Time didn’t make my pain go away
but made it easier to manage.
If you see me grow old and decay,
be sure that my love for her didn’t
vanish.

*
*

Marisol Cervantes was born in San Quintin, Mexico, and arrived in the United States in June 1999. She is 40 years old and studies at the Jewish Community Center of Staten Island. Melissa Quijano is her teacher, and Elaine Ferrara is the program supervisor. Marisol Cervantes writes, “I have two daughters, and my second child is a rainbow baby. I am so blessed to have them in my life.