the baby moves into her own room

Danielle Estelle Ramsay

From the beginning, I have been afraid. 

I know that someday you will die. 

Because I know someday you will die. 

I wake up each night convinced it is today. 

I wake up each night convinced today

is not meant for you, for us. 

You were always meant for us. 

But still I fear the empty bassinet. 

Since I fear the empty bassinet, 

I sneak into your room at night. 

When I sneak into your room at night,

I place my hand on your chest to feel you breathe. 


Even when I feel you breathe, 

I remember the beginning, and am afraid.

Danielle Estelle Ramsay is a queer poet and writer based in the Pacific Northwest. She has been writing for as long as she can remember. She writes at intersections: grief with faith, queerness with religion, and so on. She is a United Methodist pastor, a parent, an anime fan, and she loves you very much.