Upon closer examination, the deceptively obvious title reveals a deep exploration of motherhood. Since it’s unclear in the poem whether the speaker has any living children, the reader is forced to focus on her motherhood as it relates exclusively to abortion. The speaker pushes toward unequivocal true statements throughout the poem, and she still she struggles to differentiate between potential and actual motherhood, children had and not had. Evidence for birth is sprinkled throughout: the speaker “contracted” (Line 12), she moved to nurse her babes, and they were indeed born. At the same time, these children are defined by the childhoods they never had. These absences nonetheless take up space on the page. They are described, in intimate detail, and so the negative space they occupy becomes a sort of presence on its own.

The mother must define whether or not her children “were” (Line 26) in order to know if she is indeed a mother. Either way, a hard truth underlies her avowed love. If her children did truly live, then she must take responsibility for their deaths. If not, then she is free from the guilt and shame associated with abortion, but she also loses the ability to call herself a mother.