Six years ago today, my Aunt Jackie ended her life and left this world for a better place. To this day I can still remember her laugh, her smile, and her goofy personality. Sometimes I wonder if I'll still remember those things twenty years from now. Does the memory of someone truly last forever? I've pondered this question for a while now and I guess only time will tell. I wrote the poem posted below in my Advanced Poetry class this past semester. I can honestly say it is one of the most genuine, and heartfelt things I have ever written. I have dozens of poems about my Aunt Jackie, and I know there are plenty more to come. Writing about her keeps her memory alive. Even though the image of her face may begin to fade from my mind over time, my poems about her will always be clear.
Silent Sinking
A pair of sandals rests
silently at the water’s edge while
seagulls skim the surface and
dip into the darkness as she
sinks slowly now fading out of
this world and into the next
not knowing the panic she
will create above the waves to
all who knew her, loved her,
made themselves whole in her
presence now slipping into
the cold depths below that
won’t forgive or give back
any trace of her for others to
collect like shells that grow frail
but remind them of her smile
now only a memory captured
underneath the surface of all
she knew and lived for and
the air that once breathed life into her
now seeps slowly to let water fill
the void that she couldn’t replace
with the happiness of everyday
things like the family that
loved her and now cries with the
hope that this new life will be
better than her last.
RIP Aunt Jackie 1/31/03
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Awesome!
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