Saturday, February 21, 2015

For Elijah



No one heard you cry
as you curled tight in corner, blue-cold
Have I been remiss?  I miss you-

your toothy grin, white shirt & boots
Too thin & frail for polar cold
No one heard you cry 

As your pulse slowed, repulsing icy wind
Your high-pitched voice now low, hollowed   
I miss you - Have I been remiss  

In locking tight the doors
In checking to make sure you are safe
No one heard you 

As you ran out, a rabbit excited about
Making snowman & drinking warm cocoa
Have I been remiss?   I miss you-

No one held your small face
and whispered good night, my little angel
No one heard your cries this morning
I've been remiss, missing you-



~0~0~0~



I heard no bird songs
nor laughter pink as your cheeks -
Ice had seeped in, black-



Yellow-rumped warbler by M. Bednar 


RIP Elijah Marsh, 3 year old toddler who died after 6 hours of wandering outside his family's apartment.  The last picture taken of him showed him wearing only a shirt, diaper & boots, as he stepped outside at 4 am.  His family discovered him missing from his bed at 7:30 am. The weather that morning was -30 C with the wind chill.   Source

Posted for Imaginary Garden for Real Toads - Play It Again - Haiku & M's Word List- Absent
and Poets United - A villanelle of a sort ~ Thanks for the visit ~

43 comments:

  1. god. this plays on my worst fears....a child dying...
    and ugh...freezing to death...brutal...
    heart breaking....

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  2. What a sad story.. the excitement could easily lure a toddler from his warm bed.. and not getting back in.. and you wonder what a feeling it must have been.. There are stories that never reach us hear after all.. The villanelle works so well together with the haiku. Thank you for sharing this ..

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  3. So heartbreaking, Grace. I hate to think of Elijah, bewildered at the door that closed behind him he could not get to open again, colder and colder, not found in time. A touching tribute.

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  4. "The Little Match Girl" has always been a story hard for me to read, but this little guy had a family, he just walked out at night… I can't imagine the horror…

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  5. Oh, this is so so sad. I can't even imagine how the family must feel after this happening. Poor child..

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  6. Terrifying and acute, Grace, but someone has to go with Elijah and be with him where it ended. The centered final stanza is pure wail.

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  7. Oh god, that is so tragic. How does a parent go on after something like that? You're refrain, " Have I been remiss? I miss you-" is so poignant. RiP Elijah.

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  8. That is awful indeed. Something no parent should ever have to experience.

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  9. Oh that is very sad, Grace....I wonder how and why he went outside. I wonder how this tragedy could have been averted, but it doesn't really matter now, does it? Such a tragedy.

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  10. you've honored him, Grace. dark beauty, both pens ~

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  11. This is such a heart-wrenching poem, Grace. I cannot imagine what his family must be going through, the guilt and the regrets. I also like the tenderness I felt in your poem.

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  12. A powerful poem, Grace. I like your question. RIP beautiful boy. Rest in peace.

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  13. Very moving poem, with lovely use of the two refrain words. The haiku completes it perfectly.

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  14. Oh this is heartbreaking Grace...how could this have happened?...poor little angel...

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  15. Dear Grace
    Sad and moving. Poor little Elijah...
    You made a fantastic, heartbreaking poem .....

    Hugs
    JetteMajken

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  16. I loved the flow of your poem...
    Amazing!

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  17. how you soothed the horror of this sad tale is amazing; i could read, re-read, feel sad, yet still enjoy your craft

    have a nice Sunday

    much love...

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  18. You made me remember one of the poems I wrote Kabayan, "Room for Rent"

    This is a heartbreaking read and I cannot imagine the family after discovering Elijah frozen to death...

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  19. Beautifully written...so absorbing and so enhanced by the haiku too...i am glad you remembered him for us too...

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  20. Horrific in the image created by your writing and shattering when we read that it was true. Hopefully sleep came quickly for him, but not now for us.

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  21. I so enjoyed the monologue - it is heartfelt but the strong structure takes it to another level.

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  22. so much missing present.. and such a sad sad event.

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  23. I cannot shake the image of that child, freezing, confused, and unaware of its pending fate. Such tragedy in my hometown of Toronto.

    Appreciate your tribute.

    Poppy

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  24. Tender and sad song...what a tragedy!

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  25. That is always the hardest news. The child who doesn't understand makes a mistake and the tragedy lingers a lifetime.

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  26. oh really grace - that made my heart stop beating. what a nightmare for the parents. i can not even imaging what they're going through

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  27. This is just a true horror story, Grace, yet you make it sing with love, tears and pain, melodic to the end. Every parent's nightmare.

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  28. Such a beautiful prayer of love, and great sadness for this tragedy....for this innocent child.

    Donna@LivingFromHappiness

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  29. Oh. I can't even imagine. Is this not one of a parent's worst fears? This is one of the things that kind of makes one speechless, stricken with horror and sadness.

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  30. The repeated refrain Have I been remiss - is gut wrenching - A powerful and beautiful poem for the little lost child

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  31. graceful words.
    that's a sunshine to us when we pass through your lines.

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  32. This was such a sad story. I have a 3 year old grandson and it really resonated with me. I can just see the little guy pulling on his boots. Breaks your heart. Your words are beautiful, Grace.

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  33. O Grace, this tugs hard. I had read of it in MSN news (or the paper?) and thought it bad. Then it reminded me of when small and at home Dad had to put a hook way high on the door where I couldn't reach it in my sleep. My parents found me out in the barn.
    You fulfilled all challenges, you are a workaholic like my third bird.
    Good Job!!!
    ..

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  34. such a horrible event
    so beautifully rendered

    namaste
    jzb

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  35. omg! too too tragic! you have a lot of strength to have been able to write this powerful piece.

    i hope you are well, Grace.

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  36. I saw this on the news Grace. I can't do it anymore--my heart has been broken too many times over a dead kid who never had the chance to be what they would become.

    A woman 2.5 miles from my house hid her pregnancy as well as she could gave birth three weeks ago in the garage of the house she was staying at. She did it all alone, it was her 4th child, she is 24. She said she cut the umbilical cord by biting through it. The boy was born full term and healthy and she wrapped it in a towel and left him in the garage. She went back in the house. occasionally coming out to check on her son who took about 5 days to die, another 5 to thaw out for an autopsy after they found him on a conveyor belt at a recycling center. Nope I can't write these memorials anymore. I've written too many already.

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  37. Outstanding mourning, cooing with the repeated sliding sounds --oh, I miss him too--I miss each and every one. This is my new favorite of you poems, Grace.

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