Stillborn - A poem by Sylvia Plath


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Sylvia Plath - Stillborn

These poems do not live: it's a sad diagnosis.
They grew their toes and fingers well enough,
Their little foreheads bulged with concentration.
If they missed out on walking about like people
It wasn't for any lack of mother-love.

O I cannot explain what happened to them!
They are proper in shape and number and every part.
They sit so nicely in the pickling fluid!
They smile and smile and smile at me.
And still the lungs won't fill and the heart won't start.

They are not pigs, they are not even fish,
Though they have a piggy and a fishy air --
It would be better if they were alive, and that's what they were.
But they are dead, and their mother near dead with distraction,
And they stupidly stare and do not speak of her.

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Added: Feb 20 2003 | Viewed: 32652 times |

Comments (17)

Stillborn - Comments and Information
Poet: Sylvia Plath Poem: Stillborn Volume: The Collected Poems Year: Published/Written in 1960 Comment 17 of 17, added on January 6th, 2012 at 12:16 PM. its all bullshit yammy from China Comment 16 of 17, added on April 3rd, 2011 at 6:06 PM. sillborn she never had a still born baby but did have a miscarriage in 1961. this poem was written before that, so it is more of a metaphor for the way she feels about her poetry. adrienne from United States Comment 15 of 17, added on April 14th, 2010 at 7:38 PM. appreciating hi, i really appreciated the stillborn of miss Zainab, i am not criticizing but supporting the novel, my question to our famous writer is that, we didn't see another novel of her we have being expecting to see, bye abubakar from Nigeria More Comments >> Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, Stillborn, has received 17 comments. Click here to read them, and perhaps post a comment of your own.

Poem Info
Poet: Sylvia Plath Poem: Stillborn Volume: The Collected Poems Year: Published/Written in 1960 Last read: 2013-05-26 01:40:11 Viewed 32652 times. Added Feb 20 2003.

Plath Info
Biography More Poems (121 poems) Sylvia Plath books