The Angel
There are moments when even hope falls silent...
AI Artwork
The Angel
Sunken cling-film skin,
and strangled death mask face
Suppurating sores volcanoed
from the once fat valleys
of wasted cheeks.
She felt death leering
from the shadows; He taunted,
but would not come to her,
eluded her grasp.
On prayer knees she implored
a God of love and mercy,
begged forgiveness and release.
No reply. No love. No mercy.
No God?
Skeletal arms ached with the burden,
the daughter, the baby, the corpse
cradled to shriveled prunes,
once givers of sustenance
Crying, mother crying
Dying, mother dying
Rocking with the wailing crescendo
it bursts the sound barrier.
A sonic boom of absolute agony
pierces the heart of a passing angel.
Pity, love, and mercy flashes white,
touches mother’s shoulder,
kisses her furrowed forehead;
cradles her to his chest.
Wrapped in wing-warmth
a soft sigh of transition.
Mother and child in silent repose,
in peace on the floor, to suffer no more.
And so.
The Angel goes.
Inspiration
This poem came from trying to imagine the unimaginable. I found myself wondering what it must have been like to be a starving mother, infected with AIDS, watching your child suffer while knowing there was no escape. The Angel became my way of exploring compassion where hope seemed to have run out.
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© Catherine Knee 2026. All rights reserved.
AI Declaration
AI was used solely to create the accompanying artwork.
No AI was used in the writing of this poem.
The Angel is a contemporary poem by Catherine Knee exploring grief, compassion, loss, motherhood and mercy through powerful emotional storytelling.