Hold him please

(July 2017)

I held him for a while
Your pain too great to bear his weight
But still
You wished him held close
and so I did
His body kept warm against my own
and touched his fingers, told you he is beautiful
as you looked at me bleakly

I held him for a while
watching his small face
and rosebud mouth so still
Willing him to move and stir to life
But my will wasn’t strong enough and neither was yours

I held him for a while
felt your eyes on mine
as I looked at his
Held him just long enough to remember his face
now etched in my mind
and still you watched

I held you both for a while
as the emptiness washed over the three of us
And I placed him in your arms
while his warmth lingered
Watched you breathe him in
Sweet fragile boy, too still for life