Monday Poetry Train #24
Thanking Evan
by Joy Renee
We thank you Evan
For your visit.
Though you came and went
In the space of a smile,
In that little while
Blossomed the flower
Of eternity.
We thank you Evan
For you exist
Now in hearts enlarged
To hold the ocean of love
Which over the years
Of absorbing our tears
Will return our joy.
For Eric M twin of Evan M b. 7/27/95 d. 10/31/95
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In mid October of 1995 Ed and I began babysitting three month old twin boys. On the morning of Halloween we were expecting the arrival of the babies and instead received a phone call from the mother. Evan had died of crib death.
Because Eric was Evan's twin, doctor's recommended he be attached to a monitor for a year and any caregivers would need to be trained in how to use the monitor. The family decided to keep care of Eric inside the family.
So, in a sense, we lost both babies. Ten days is plenty of time for me to bond with an infant.
The day before, Evan had gazed into my eyes and smiled, holding the gaze and the smile for what seemed like an eternity. Memory of that moment sustained me through the grief process and was the seed for this poem.
It is hard to believe Eric is twelve years old now. As far as I know anyway. His family were friends of friends of my mother and I haven't heard anything further since my mother's friend showed me a photo of Eric at age three.
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Sorry I'm so late getting this posted this week. It has been hard to drag my attention off my NaNo novel.
Plus it is getting harder to select a poem. I've got three left now! I'm going to have to start writing poetry again or start reposting poems or switching to fiction outtakes....
Maybe I'll be inspired once I get inside the heads of my three POV characters: two poets and a Professor specializing in medieval poetry. Which leads to an interesting question: when a character in a novel writes poetry which is included in the text of the novel, who is the author?
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3 tell me a story:
That's a rough story - and then to lose contact, too. Ouch. Sorry to hear that's how things worked out.
The poem, though, is lovely.
I remember that, it was so sad for everyone involved. Writing does help deal with pain of loss.
Lovely poem, sorry for your loss.
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