My Sister's Miscarriage
by Jason Fisk
I stood there as they squirted
the jelly on my sister’s belly
and was reminded of how my wife
giggled every time that had been done to her.
I stood there and began to sob silently
behind my sister as I saw
the baby on the screen,
but saw no movement.
I was used to hearing
the speedy little machine gun
heartbeat of my children,
but immediately knew something
was wrong as the baby
just seemed to float there in her womb.
The doctor walked us through
the ghostly images on the screen –
This is the baby’s head...
here’s the rib cage…
this is the heart…
As soon as those words left her lips,
my sob could no longer remain silent
and was quickly joined
by my family’s sorrow
and muted chest heaves.
The technician continued
to earnestly search
for the missing heartbeat.
My sister finally said –
Could you please stop?
JASON FISK lives in the Chicagoland area with his wife, daughter, and two dogs. He tries to find time to write between changing diapers and cleaning up dog poo. He is currently teaching English to students who would rather read graphic novels than poetry. You can visit his website at www.jasonfisk.com.
I stood there as they squirted
the jelly on my sister’s belly
and was reminded of how my wife
giggled every time that had been done to her.
I stood there and began to sob silently
behind my sister as I saw
the baby on the screen,
but saw no movement.
I was used to hearing
the speedy little machine gun
heartbeat of my children,
but immediately knew something
was wrong as the baby
just seemed to float there in her womb.
The doctor walked us through
the ghostly images on the screen –
This is the baby’s head...
here’s the rib cage…
this is the heart…
As soon as those words left her lips,
my sob could no longer remain silent
and was quickly joined
by my family’s sorrow
and muted chest heaves.
The technician continued
to earnestly search
for the missing heartbeat.
My sister finally said –
Could you please stop?
JASON FISK lives in the Chicagoland area with his wife, daughter, and two dogs. He tries to find time to write between changing diapers and cleaning up dog poo. He is currently teaching English to students who would rather read graphic novels than poetry. You can visit his website at www.jasonfisk.com.
