It’s been a year since
my darling daughter died.
Well, a year ago yesterday,
and I should have visited her
but I couldn’t bring myself to leave the house,
so I came today.
I lay by her site
just how she lay in the plain hospital room,
Still and lifeless
surrounded by the nauseating lemon disinfectant
after her father
and I signed her pain away.
I’ll never forgive myself
for leaving her unsupervised
but who could have known that would happen.
So I popped the cork off my bottle of wine
and drank away my afternoon,
and drank away my pain
maybe if I had paid her more attention
Jessie could be laying here with me today.
Once the sun starts to set
I pack up my stuff
keeping her space clean,
just how she would keep her bedroom
and head back to the car.
I turn the key and start my trip home
but as I drive along gravel roads
my eyes wander as they please
I see the sun shining through the trees.
It makes me feel warm,
gives me a sense of understanding
as to why Jessie climbed that tree.
She had always loved a sunset,
just like her father,
just like me.
I round the corner,
swaying along the white dotted line
as the setting sun distracts me,
and I lose control -
everything stops.
A singular gum leaf graces my windshield.
-
Author:
Mikaylakcoates (
Offline) - Published: July 4th, 2025 02:15
- Comment from author about the poem: i submitted this poem in my year 10 English class and got many congrats. It is based of the novel " the simple gift " which tells the story of many characters through poem like verses. obviously being interested in poetry helped me but the deep emotional setting of the story gives so much more that the words itself, so when i tried to write my own i wanted it to have the same effect.
- Category: Sad
- Views: 5
- Users favorite of this poem: sorenbarrett
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Comments2
You did well to convey the emotion of a dark situation that is not yours into a poem. Writing in the first person helps a lot and your poem took us for a ride. Using a child's premature death and a mother's grief also upped the ante. The ending being left as it was ambiguous as to whether the leaf was just a symbolic reminder, a spiritual sign or the last thing seen before driving into the tree ironically ending her life by a tree as well is masterful. Lack of resolution forces the readers mind to return again and again to solve the situation. Very well written and a fave
thank you
Wonderfully written write of a tragic tale of the loss of a child, loving the ending as it leaves the reader to work out what happened, enjoyed the read
thank you 🙂
You are very welcome
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