Crib Death

The ritual
Should have been
Terminated
Somewhere around
the second trimester
And deposited
In a dumpster

Instead
We chose
To force it out
Until what we had
Was a bloody spectacle
Of proper nights
Long past
And a reminder
That for the sake
Of deceny
We should have
Given up
On something so
Grotesque
Settling for a natural
Tendency to exaggerate
The memories