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 EastlandAbout Anna Eastland

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.

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