Preening, Abi Crouch

Preening
by Abi Crouch

Today I met another

Mama

who lost her little boy.

We traded photos,

Complimented and preened.

And looked with hungry eyes

At babies

still

but not asleep.

:::

about the piece.
My son Corbin was born still at 41 weeks gestation.  There were no indicators during my pregnancy that there was anything wrong with him and the many tests I've had since we lost him have not provided any answers about what happened.  He simply slipped away from us between dinner on the 18th and the wee hours of the 19th when I went into labor.  After he was born I had this ferocious need to share him and the love and pride that I had for him.  Because of the circumstances and the taboo around talking about dead babies, I didn't feel like I could.  This piece is about the first Mama I met who also had a late third trimester loss.  We met for lunch one day and shared our birth stories and boys' photos.  It was such a relief to be able to share freely and to have someone look at my boy, and to be able to see HIM and not just death.  This afternoon holds a very special place in my heart.  -Abi

about the poet.
Abi Crouch has an impressively large set of skills made irrelevant by technology from the 20th century. Driven by art and writing, she has become a horrible house keeper, a fabulous quilt maker, a loving and (mostly) attentive wife and a mama with her heart on fire for her two boys; Wills, who is three and Corbin who was born still at 41 weeks in January of 2011.  Most of Abi's spare time is wrapped up in building A Heart to Hold.  You can learn more here; a Heart To Hold or find us on facebook at a Heart to Hold on Facebook