The ground beneath me shifted 

as I felt what was my heart 

pummeling through my body 

stuck in a crater of bile 


the bulge in my throat 

surfaced out my mouth 

from where I know not 

in the form of a creature 

screaming incoherently 


my world as I knew it was over 

as I stare skeptically 

at her cold, stiff body 

lying there alone 


thinking, this cannot happen 

she’s only twenty-seven 

she must get married 

have babies of her own 

make me a grandma 

she ain’t even grown! 


How could God do this? 

My life will never be the same 

as my only child left 

the world far too soon 

after she came.