She Knew No Sin
She bore 10 children,
only three lived past the age of two.
She knew death
She knew birth
She knew when to conceive so she
could plant in the Spring and
harvest in the Fall.
She knew no sin, so why were
her children buried one by one
under the growing oak?
She knew she belonged to the man
who gave her children to carry,
but she also knew she did not
love him as she had hoped
to find one day.
She knew what flowers to pick
to ease her stomach, what
rocks to pile around her kids
graves so they wouldn't crumble,
what storm clouds looked like
from miles away, but she
did not know how to ease her
breaking heart every
time she digs a hole.
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