Parched Grass
By: Anna Eastland
It’s such a hot summer that I don’t know
which flowers to bring you
Everything dries up so fast
gets parched and wrinkled in the heat
and there’s enough death already
in the graveyard
There should be a stone at least
shiny and beautiful at first
with simple eloquent words in your memory
nestled in the grass ever more cosily and
eventually getting dusty and scratched
But I hesitate
and hover over your small grassy mound
like hot air unable to settle
unwilling to take that last step
lay the last stone
and seal the tomb with the stone which
forever silently repeats the word “goodbye”
Anna Eastland is a Canadian author, blogger and mother of 8. Her first book, “Love Rebel: Reclaiming Motherhood,” is an anthology affirming the dignity and importance of motherhood. After losing her daughter Josephine in labour three years ago, she felt a passionate call to reach out and connect with other babyloss moms. One way she has expressed her own sorrow has been through poetry, and last year she published “unexpected blossoming: a journey of grief and hope,” to share her experience with others.
Twitter: @AnnaEastland
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