APOOO TRIBUTE: SOFTEN MY SOUL

A Place Of Our Own (APOOO) National Book Club featured my all the mothers whose babies didn't make it. They are still mothers. A special thanx to Yasmin of APOOO for posting this story, although it didn't quite fit the mold. I really appreciate your support and encouragement - more than you will ever know!

Tribute: Soften My Soul

To me, the miracle of motherhood is not just the delivery. It is not limited to the overwhelming rush of magnificence that a baby was created within you, or granted to you. No, the miracle of motherhood, of parenthood, is the change of heart that occurs when you learn and accept that you are fertile ground. When your soul softens, first accepting, then anticipating a tiny new life.

Why is that a miracle? Because there is a unique transformation that occurs, that prepares for life to change inexplicably. I know friends who swore they hated children, until that tiny seed was deposited in them. And something pure sprouted from the knowledge of being with child, from the revelation, from the onslaught of thankfulness at the thought of becoming a mommy. They became some of the most genuine caring women I know. Even I was tied to my career, ambivalent about sacrificing my freedom and money making potential, until I was told that my baby was dead. And in that infinitesimal moment, everything changed. My essence cried out for her, my soul wept and my spirit prayed for this child I had never seen, heard, touched or felt. And that is when I became a mother.

The story below, and this tribute, is for the mothers who lost their babies before they made it through. For those women who gleefully accepted the call and opened up their innermost depths of love, but for whatever reason the child was lost before, during or soon after childbirth. They are still mothers. A mother weeps and mourns and suffers a tremendous loss, even if the child was lost in utero. She is still a mommy. She still very much loved and very much lost. She remembers her baby every single day. And, while the ending of my story was rare, I felt that agonizing loss for a short time and I will never forget.

So this tribute is for the mommies that were not able to carry to term, or who encountered death soon after the wonder of life. May God bless and keep you.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of this intimate and poignant tribute.

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Aisha K. Moore, Esq., pseudonym a.Kai, is a published poet and novelist who enjoys writing inspirational, fantasy, sci fi (speculative fiction), commercial and adult fiction. Her Discover Kai Poetry Collection is an intimate monthly log of experiences, emotions and reflection that consists of six published collections, including Cherished Beginnings, Intimate Musings, Internal Indulgences and Peaceful Resolution. She is a contributing poet to Step Up to the Mic: A Poetic Explosion (Poetic Press). Her poetry has been recognized in a number of magazines, book clubs and literary circles and is posted on a number of websites and blogs.

Her inspirational short story, Second Chance, has been published in True: Vol. 2 and her short story, The Marks, was published by The Writers Cafe Press in the anthology Light at the Edge of Darkness. A third short story, Mikkis Anniversary, is included in the anthology If It Aint One Thing, Its Another. She is a guest reviewer for RAWSISTAZ Book Club.

A wife and mother of five, Aisha graduated from Georgetown University Law Center and is licensed to practice in both Washington D.C. and Maryland. She is employed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) where she works in employment discrimination matters. For more information, visit her at www.discoverkai.com, www.discoverkai.blogspot.com or www.myspace.com/discoverkai.