This week marks the anniversary of my daughter’s death. I wrote the first few lines of this poem while she was still alive, nearly seven years ago to the day. I finished it over the next month, adding a few words as they came to me. This week’s poem is in memory and honor of my daughter, Livia Flynn.
You smiled when we yelled
Unable to understand the words
But comforted by familiarity.
You fell asleep despite
The clash of conflict,
An oasis of tranquility
In the midst of chaos.
Wandering back with hands for eyes
Groping at the pale shroud of time
At landmarks, unrecognizable
Darkness grown from light
The illumination of a photo
A smile, a sleeping face
Still moments count the hours
And silence accompanies
Emptiness both searching
For companionship
In absence
Order replaces disarray
With a surplus of time
Distraction becomes
Recreation
The sun rises, yet the sky is empty
The day begins, but the morning
Is filled with a quiet that is not peace
Memory lacks and does not care
That it will never sate
What came to be
