Stephanie Joy Phillips

An intravenous drip from society into my psyche
A pronatalist poison
You are not a mum
You will never be a mum

The message repeated again and again
A mum understands true love
A mum has empathy
A mum is selfless
A mum deserves recognition

How dare society mock me
With its weighted blanket trying to smoother my voice
Its disdain of my pain
No acknowledgement of my grief
If I can’t be fixed, I should stay silently broken

Within my shame I find my strength
Within my anger, I am reborn

No longer silent, no longer afraid
Discovering my voice
The knowledge I am not alone
I am part of an army standing equal in understanding
A community of love, born from grief

I am childless, but I am no less
I am childless, and I am worthy