Minamata Poem by Elizabeth Russell

I remember seeing a photograph of a mother
Holding her daughter -
In a town called Minamata in Japan
Where mercury had been dumped into the water
And this little girl had been born
With birth defects
So severe
That they paralysed me for a moment
But her mother’s face
Shone with the type of love
That could only have been
Reserved for a child who had
Exceeded, achieved, excelled, saved, loved
But this child was
Unable to speak, think, respond
Or move
Her hands clawed
And her face -!
But her mother’s face revealed
A love and compassion so infinitely pure
That it eclipsed
Her daughter’s disability
I wondered at the time
What kind of love did that?
That just by looking at this photograph
My heart could fill with a longing so desperate
That it took my breath away
I had never seen that look before
But I know it now
I see it on my face