the monthly updates

as you

get older the notices

of death

outweigh

those of birth.

you can't remember

the last

time

someone told you

with excitement that

so and so

was pregnant,

or that a child was born.

instead,

so often now,

it's the 'did you hear'

she's gone,

or he's gone, followed

by the quiet sigh

of breathing

before the conversation

moves on.