October 16th, 1987: after a 58 hour recovery mission, Robert O’Donnell rescued 18 month old Baby Jessica from a well. 8 years later, he took his own life.
When you surfaced
with everybody’s baby in your arms,
the world’s hands, calloused from applause,
slipped back into its pockets and walked.
But when the world watches you bloom,
it waits to watch you wilt, too.
And a baby is a baby until they are
a savior, a parent, a father.
If we are born to save, raise, and
leave then,
it’s a gorgeous and terrifying truth—
we were only here for other people.
For Robert O’Donnell
Megan Mary Moore is the author of Dwellers (Unsolicited Press, 2019) and the forthcoming To Daughter a Devil (Unsolicited Press, 2023) and the forthcoming chapbook And Aphrodite Laughed (Milk & Cake Press, 2023). Her poetry has appeared in Rattle and is forthcoming in Grist. She lives in Cincinnati where she serves as editor for Moon Cola Zine, dresses like a fairy princess and watches too many horror films. You can follow her on Twitter and IG @MeganMaryMoore