Emergency Ultrasound - Mia Herman

BabyCenter says I can expect my embryo
to be the size of a sesame seed
several weeks after conception
and I’m not sure why but I think about this
when the cramping begins and the crimson creeps
down the inside of my thigh until I finally reach
for the phone because panic has set in
and I am certain I can feel this little seed
scatter right out from under me
which I try to explain, hours later,
when the doctor is “sorry to report”
that he doesn’t see anything
on the screen and it suddenly feels
like a gust of wind has plucked me
from the ground and I am floating
away for good.

Originally published by Foliate Oak 2019

Mia Herman is a Jewish writer and editor living in New York. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Hofstra University and her work has appeared in dozens of publications. UNTIL THE END OF TIME (Alien Buddha Press, 2023) is her debut poetry chapbook.