Vitamin K Deficiency of the Newborn

Tiny black curls 

frame your perfect face 

as dark blues

become more easily visible 

against a greying background

Your blood 

displaced from its home

pooling in forbidden places 

as it cools in your veins 

10 fingers and 10 toes

curled and tucked away 

under swaddled cloth

held tightly by fabric and father 

Your mother holding 

onto reality 

as tightly as you

held onto your life 

Tiny black curls

stick to your face

bound for eternity 

by tears and kisses 

mixed together 

against your skin

Your green eyes 

entombed forever 

behind whispy eyelashes 

destined never to flutter

again