The dreary weather
should have been a sign.
But we didn’t know.
When the phone rang,
my mom walked in the room and answered it
in her usual cheery voice.
But I knew something bad happened
when her face fell a thousand feet.
She hung up and told me the news.
My aunt had lost her unborn baby.
I knew there was a cousin who I’d never know
who’d never get to play outside
or breathe fresh air
or live life.
Some people get upset when they can’t say goodbye.
But I never got to say hello.