you made me promise if there was anything wrong with the fetus
we would have an abortion—and I promised
so confident that nothing could go wrong.

to be given the worst as well as the best
to find the extremes are not unalike and learn from each
that the gift of life cannot be killed, it will always
survive.
the thought of the less than complete is what we
rejoice and grieve, both in their time and place;
we are given the gifts of all that can be
and we cannot refuse them.

(This poem ends the first chapter of Deep Water—Diagnosis.)

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