A Sonnet to My Wife, the Mother of My Child

We’ve heard it said that loss of child divides;

That couples who have borne this grief together

Oft drift apart, forgetting how abides

A love made stronger in those who weather

Adversity, who strengthen one another

To rebuild hope despite enfeebling pain;

The only self they have is father, mother,

Bereft of child, by weeping driven insane:

Unbreakable bonds of husband and wife

Are shattered by the broken, death-wrenched bonds

Of parent to child, cut by child’s lost life.

I know these truths, but still my heart responds:

   We are not they, my love.  We’ve ridden tides

   Of joy and loss, but still our love resides.