Yes, I Held My Daughter
By Laura Edwards
She lived
before I held her in my hand,
cold, red, translucent—
the knuckles of her fingers starkly human,
her feet, like a tiny doll’s, too perfect.
The weight of her body,
too slight to merit measuring,
pulled me like an anchor—
momentum halted.
My breath betrayed me
by continuing
to move in me
when she could not;
my heart by beating
when hers had stopped.
Laura Edwards is a mother, writer, baker, and artist living in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. She earned her MA in English at Southeast Missouri State University and now teaches high school English. She strives to keep her students’ love of literature and creative writing alive while not neglecting her own. A writer of both fiction and poetry, she earned an Honorable Mention in the 2019 Writers of the Future 4th Quarter contest. You can find her on Twitter, @LauraEd44365481