By Ken Hume
The baby they yearned for
That new life for which they hoped
The expectation, the promise
Fragile; silent & cautious
For fear they won't cope
With yet more disappointment
Heartbreak & despair
Another dream hanging by a rope
Fate's random gallows
Executioner's fickle whim
It doesn't seem fair
Deciding our fate
Leaving us to grope
About in the darkness
Walking a tightrope
Of faded longing
Teetering
Struggling to balance
Our barely contained grief
And tears. Absolute loss.
With our desire for contentment
For Motherhood.
The longing to be a father
Heightened by the loss of his own.
But we put on a brave face
Smile through the strain
For our family's sake
We walk through the rain
We pick each other up
Dust off the shame
Our mutual love
Sustaining us
Steadying us
Through the pain
Bringing us closer,
Strengthening our bond.
We'll always have each other
We'll always walk
This tightrope of life
Together.
---
Ken Hume is 37 years of age. He hails from Tullamore but now resides in Clara, Co. Offaly with his wife Anne-Marie. He writes most of his material in the local coffee shop. Snowstorm of Doubt and Grace, his first book, was published in 2011. In 2012, he formed a group called the Tullamore Rhymers Club for the purposes of sharing & discussing new poems and rhymes in an informal manner. He is currently working on his 2nd collection of poems called What Happened Next due to be published late 2017. You can find his writing blog at www.kenhume79.wordpress.com