Melissa Fournier ~
Inked footprints on paper
a one-ounce trial size
of Johnson’s Head-to-Toe Baby Wash
one-quarter gone
a striped receiving blanket and knit hat
folded inside a clear plastic bag
zipped to preserve her scent
a vial of holy water
one-third gone
a dried white rose entwined with baby’s breath
two hospital bracelets
one sonogram picture at seven weeks
three sonogram pictures at twenty weeks
a urine-imbued double-pink-lined stick
which I hold like proof
the way Thomas held out his blood-
and-water-soaked finger
after removing it from Christ’s
pierced side
About the poet:
Melissa Fournier is a perinatal and pediatric hospice social worker, and program director of a nonprofit bereavement center in Traverse City, MI. Her poetry has appeared in Dunes Review and The Sow’s Ear Poetry Review, and she received the 2013 William J. Shaw Prize for Poetry awarded by Michigan Writers, a nonprofit group dedicated to helping local writers hone their craft and publish their work. She also facilitates Writing Through Loss, a therapeutic writing program for individuals grieving the death of a loved one.
About the poem:
“This poem was inspired by my disbelief over the death of my daughter, Camille Grace, born on the very edge of viability and held for the entirety of her ninety-minute life. Yes, she was here, and she is risen.”
Poetry editors:
Johanna Shapiro and Judy Schaefer
4 thoughts on “What I Keep”
The poem reads like a promise that will never be forgotten.
Thank you. I love her name. Camille Grace.
Reread this poem 3 times in disbelief until finally it sunk in. Thought maybe I was missing something, then realized it was the author, missing her daughter. My tears for you and the memory of baby Camille. And sending prayers for you and your angel baby.
What a powerful, good poem about a devastating event!
Also, excellent haiku posted!