Arrival
Villanelle
Your arrival comes as a surprise,
just as our babymoon was due to start.
I see panic in your mother’s eyes,
her hand on mine a clutching, crushing vise,
her back contorted in a mounded arc.
I stroke the sweat that burns with cruel surprise
and voice a counterpoint as sirens rise
and fall, murmuring with art-
less ease, “She’ll have her mother’s eyes,
my love, she’ll be bold, bright and wise …”
The rolling gurney forces us apart,
and her departure takes me by surprise.
My bruised hand throbs. There were no goodbyes.
I pace, a journey waiting for a start.
I only see your mother’s panicked eyes.
Finally, the door – I hear your cries –
My arms make a cradle by my heart,
where your arrival comes as a surprise.
Alone, I see you have your mother’s eyes.
About the Creator
Sonia Heidi Unruh
I love: my husband and children; all who claim me as family or friend; the first bite of chocolate; the last blue before sunset; solving puzzles; stroking cats; finding myself by writing; losing myself in reading; the Creator who is love.
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Comments (13)
Wow, you captured it all perfectly - fabulous poem!!
Ohh this was beautiful! 🤍
A beautiful poem for a wonderful moment. Though while your rhyming scheme fits the contemporary form of the villanelle, your lines do not. Your first line should also be your 6th, 12th & 18th lines & your third line should also be you 9th, 15th & 19th lines. Still, I love the poem.
Awe-inspiring work! Keep up the remarkable effort—congrats! ❤
Gorgeous ❤
Powerful and emotional!!! Wonderfully written!!!
Beautiful, heartbreaking piece
Goodness, this is heartbreaking. Really well composed though. Definitely emotive!
gorgeous work!!
Gosh this was so heartbreaking. Very bittersweet. Loved your poem!
I miss the strict adherence to meter and rhyme in these poems (part of the adventure and athletic journey of their creation) Even so, you create a very tender poem, Sonia. Your imagery, as usual, is evocative and full with meaning.
Very nice. 🦋
I love this, both visceral and emotive.