A/N: This poem is meant to have 3 speakers: Lily Potter, N. Tonks, and Alice Longbottom. Most of the poem is "general" in that all three could be speaking those lines, but some specific lines are meant to be spoken by just one character. I hope it's not too confusing.
There
I wish I could have been there for my little boy.
Could I have taken him and run,
Found someplace for us to hide
Together?
Could I have kept him safe and in my arms?
Could I have stayed with him,
Let others fight that day,
And grieved together with the survivors?
Could I have been stronger,
Better,
Smarter,
Held out a little longer?
So I could be with him now.
And he wouldn't be with someone else,
Trying to please a person who's not me.
And trying to prove he's okay,
Trying to be okay.
Missing me
And never quite sure
Why I had to leave.
Even as he forgives me,
Can I forgive myself?
"A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation and bitter weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted for her children,
Because they are no more."
—Jeremiah 31:15 (NKJV)
A/N: I just wanted to clarify that this piece is meant to be the characters second-guessing and blaming themselves, not me as the writer second-guessing or blaming the characters. Also, in case you aren't familiar with the biblical character of Rachel, she died during the birth of her second son.
