GriefNet Library: Poetry

For Edith Helen Gyger Dodge (1916-1996)by Marie Eaton On the day she died, I pulled the dusty box of photographs from the back closet and spilled the years onto the table. Hair clipped tightly back, six-year old gazing solemnly across her book. Slender girl, in spit-curls and white lace dress, resting against the new roadster. Hair tossed back against the summer heat. Bride, laughing her joy. Wife, grinning at husband, hoisting the fish with two hands. Child-cradling mother, looking back over her shoulder. Piano playing, singing, singing, singing. Standing front and center in mandatory holiday photos. Children grow taller. Grandchildren appear, finally grouped around her chair. Sorting through these captured memories, I touch my mother's hand again. Copyright Marie Eaton, 1997 For permission to copy, contact the author: [email protected] Library's Poetry Section | Library's Main Page Grief Net Home Page