“Movement” by Deborah Staunton
I watched her eyes as they focused on the screen,
her head, mannequin still,
her lips a strained line.
her body, motionless,
mimicking my tiny lifeless unborn baby,
willing her to move,
just the flick of a finger, the drop of a shoulder, a barely discernible breath,
just one sign that the small form on the screen could somehow reciprocate,
the gift of movement, any movement.
Instead, she stood,
refusing to make eye contact,
to release the breath we had both been holding.
The heaviness in the tight, airless room
twisted time into an eternity of frozen life.
Just tell me,
Just say the words,
break the agonizing silence
and make the waiting stop.
My baby may be dead, but I’m not.
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Deborah Staunton’s Artist Statement:
Deborah L. Staunton’s work has appeared in magazines and journals including, The
Sondheim Review, Writers’ Journal, Sheepshead Review, Mothers Always Write,Meat
For Tea and The MacGuffin. She has written child development materials for Harcourt
Learning Direct and her essays “Promises Kept,” “An Owl In Winter,” “Anything Could
Happen,” and “Shoes” placed in various writing contests.
