A Poem

Something I wrote a while ago.

Hanano,
Means everything to me
A name you would not recognise
A word that is empty to you
Ha na no
Each syllable drips images
Experiences through which
You can know her

Hah, Hah, Hah
Breathing exercises are forgotten
She struggles with the life inside her
And my first glimpse is of a small face
Squashed and puffy eyed
From the battle of birth
And now the only one for me,
Has become two
Everything changed with a first breath

Naa, Naa
The baby demands,
Like a criminal, stealing our sleep
A ransom we gladly pay
To gain that delight which
Is each new milestone
Her first smile
The first time she rolled over
Those first tottering steps on
Christmas Day
(The best gift I received)
Until

No
I cry, tears tracking down my face
Despair and pain
Washing over me, engulfing me
When she says
You will not see her again
Final memories of Osaka airport
Little girl climbing, giggling
Playing peekaboo
So

No
I say again
I will not go quietly
I will fight so that a word
That means nothing to you
Will not be empty for me,
Hanano