Esme Teresa and Elle Norma: A Lament of Light
At twenty weeks they saw the light—
two daughters Esme Teresa and Elle Norma
wombed in delight—
before the room
turned still and gray.
A silence
swept our joy away.
Two tiny souls
twin sparks alight
a future sky written in their flight—
their names
floating
in ether.
“Esme Teresa and Elle Norma”
But then
the silence
fell heavy as stone.
the nursery untouched
the crib—
a garden of dreams unwatered
where giggles lay dormant
roots never took hold
in life’s soft soil .
No flutter now
beneath Mom’s skin—
no song of life
no kick within—
only the weight
of unmade memories…
laughter
that never danced
in the air.
Spring
cradled their laughter
but winter
whipped in without warning
leaving a landscape
barren
where warmth once kissed
their cheeks.
Two heartbeats—
once a serenade—
now still
as the quietest chamber.
The doctor bowed
the heavens wept
Hope lay down
where sorrow slept.
We cradle the ache
a weight too vast—
the visions
of pink bows
and shared giggles.
swept away
in the stillness
of what could have been …
We set sail
on a sea of glass—
but a tempest
ripped through our course
leaving us adrift
lost in waves of sorrow
searching
for the lighthouse
of their laughter.
Tomorrow comes—
with cradle bare
its holy breath
not there.
And with it
the earth
will meet them—
two daughters
born to darkness.
We the family
hold grief in our arms
where life was meant to be.
Mom and Dad hold them once
then let them go—
two stars God summoned
veiled in
white as snow.
And in our hearts
they will remain
two pink candles
that never flickered .
carrying the warmth
of a love
that never took its first breath—
yet burned
into our being.
We speak their names
“Esme Teresa and Elle Norma”
in prayers
trace them
on nursery walls
and dream
of lullabies
that Heaven
cradles now.
where one day
we’ll be reunited
in joy’s eternal embrace.
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