Wisp of Moonglow
for A and C
You have left us, gone back
somewhere before the beginning.
Doctors name you miscarriage.
We already named you
tender sprout
baby sequin
wisp of moonglow
We saw you on a sonogram.
We grew eager to welcome you.
Tiny flower, loose in the wind,
we feel your absence
soft dream
lost sibling
shimmer of cloud
A single raindrop, you disappear
before you touch the earth.
© Shirley J. Brewer
Shirley J. Brewer serves as resident poet at Carver Center for the Arts, and on the board of Passager Books. Her award-winning poems garnish Barrow Street, Gargoyle, Loch Raven Review, Poetry East, Tar River Poetry, among other journals and anthologies. Shirley’s fifth book of poetry, Goddess of Swizzle, is forthcoming from Apprentice House in Spring, 2026. Her poem, “My Movie Monsters,” won 3RD Prize, Beullah Rose Poetry Prize, 2025, sponsored by Smartish Pace.
The Loch Raven Review 