Uninvited Guest

A plastic wristband,

cold and stiff,

pressed into the pocket

where I hide my hesitations.

She unwraps the ultrasound —

small and fragile as a sigh,

a picture I never asked for,

weighted with a silent question.

Hope and fear held close,

tangled like new roots

beneath skin that doesn’t want

this growing thing.

It isn’t the plan,

not the blueprint or the map

I’d drawn in steadier hands,

but it’s knocking at the door anyway.