Amniocentesis
As the receptionist studies
our insurance details,
the gynaecologist appears
from behind a curtain;
needle long and thick.
I stroke your arm.
The syringe angles into
the sponge of womb,
pierces the wet image,
feet webbed in shadow.
She interlocks her fingers
and turns her palms inside
out to click her knuckles.
Gripping the plunger,
she sucks out cloudiness,
holds it to the light.
After, she scans you,
trying to pull an image
from the swirling grey.
Glimpses of limbs slide away.
There, isn’t he delicate?
So, a boy? Our boy
in buy valtrex uk there where the tide’s out.
O.K.? she asks
moving to the machine,
our son slipping
off the screen.
Stuart Pickford is the recipient of an Eric Gregory award. His first and only full collection, The Basics, was published by Redbeck Press (2002) and shortlisted for the Forward Best First Collection prize. Stuart lives in Harrogate and teaches in a local comprehensive school.