Poems of prematurity

My niece, Rosie, is only 22 and has written some beautiful and powerful poetry in the last few years. She’s kindly allowed me to post the following two poems on my blog because they are meaningful in the context of prematurity. The first poem Rosie did not write specifically about prematurity, but agrees with me that it’s sadly often very fitting:

Globally, prematurity is the leading cause of death in children under 5. Over a million children die each year due to complications of premature birth. Thank you, Rosie, for honouring all these little ones. Thank you for giving voice to the immensurable loss that so many families go through every day. It’s only by speaking out that we can raise awareness of prematurity and the trauma that it often entails for the whole family. Thank you for finding such fitting and meaningful words to convey the inexpressible.

Rosie’s second poem is a beautiful verse that she wrote for her cousin, my little girl, who was born 15 weeks early in June 2019. Rosie wrote this while her cousin was still a very tiny baby fighting for her life in intensive care:

Thank you Rosie for writing this lovely poem that I will treasure and share with my daughter and her sister when they’re older. Its sentiment not only applies to my little one, but also holds strong for preemies across the world.