Writing Contest
Baby's Breath
By Marilyn Aschoff Mellor, M.D.
Sapphire,
you of the china blue eyes
and crowned with silky brown hair
Sapphire,
why did you stop breathing
at naptime?
Did you forget
its simple rhythm
or did you follow whispers
about a place free from sorrow?
Sapphire,
where did you wander
with that sweet smell
of your baby’s breath?
Did you not hear
the latching of the gate behind you?
And how are we to explain
your actions to your parents?
We who pray our own babies
remain in the group you left behind
as we close your perfect sapphire eyes.