In the center of the white room with the wide curtain-less windows:
A woman cannot sleep, but her eyes are closed;
Normally it is her eyes that burn, now it is just her skin.
Next to her is a glass of water that is not too far away to reach,
She is just too weak to try to grab it.
For a moment she tries, and she is pulled away from the bed to hear:

“Mama?” Her mother is reading a book by candle light.
The girl has wandered away from the nursery; it is late.
Her mother at first appears frustrated, but her expression warms.
Mama gives her a small slice of treacle ****, plenty of kisses, tucks her back into bed.
In the nursery, there is a toy horse. The girl looks at it and

“Father!” The young girl laughs breathlessly,
As her father playfully taps her shoulder, passing by atop of a horse.
The young girl is learning to ride horses, although Mama doesn’t approve.
But Father believes girls should do everything that little boys do.
His face is red and handsome, and on his other side are

“Peter! Little John!” She calls out to her younger brothers.
It is time for supper and her mother sent her outside to fetch them.
She has been inside all day, learning French and practicing piano.
The young girl has very little time to play anymore, but she knows
Her brothers are hiding, begging her to play.
She starts to run and hears a shout from her

“*****!” She gasps, as her older sister pulls in her corset tighter.
Her figure is slim enough, the young girl decides. ***** pulls too much.
The girl is now a young woman and has no one to help her tie her corset,
Except *****. There is a ball tonight because ***** is getting married.
The young woman wonders about when she will get married and if his name will be

“Nathan Smith” the Priest says, smiling down upon the two young lovers.
The young woman looks bashfully up at her groom. He looks full of pride.
She wonders if Father will cry like he did at *****’s wedding.
As they recite their vows, the young woman keeps thinking about
What sort of curtains she likes and how she likes the name

“Sarah,” the young mother looks lovingly down at her newborn.
Beside her, Nathan looks once again full of caring pride.
For a moment, it feels as if it is just the three of them in the world.
The young mother is so excited and scared at the same time.
She hopes for a little boy next time and she will name him

Nothing. The baby was taken from her. She did not name the baby.
The young woman does not know if it was a boy or girl.
She trusts Nathan will name it properly, and love the child.
For a moment she wishes Nathan was there or little John or Peter.
But they are far now, like Mama, like Father, like *****.
Perhaps it is better this way.

In the center of the white room with the wide curtain-less windows,
The woman is ready to sleep;
Next to her is a glass of water that is not too far away to reach,
She is just too weak to try to grab it.
She does not try this time and she is pulled away from the bed to hear: