her name was adleen
1:09 AM
to you they mean spring but to me they mean winter
they mean pink blankets
and teacups
that hit the ground a little sooner than you hoped
they mean teacups
and white dogs
and every stolen chocolate from grandma's pantry
but they mostly mean birthdays
her name was adleen
and she was 2
and she was almost 3
but she thought she was 8
because she danced like she was 8
because she sang like she was 8
because she spoke about angels like she was 8
and we celebrated her birthday every monday
for 8 mondays
and her favorite insect was a butterfly
because they flew to her
because they always flew to her
she held butterflies in her hands
as
if
she
were
a
flower
and she was
and her name was adleen
and her birthday was every monday
because we knew
they'd stop coming
and they did.
january 16 2006 - december 9 2008
15 comments
This is beautiful. The part about celebrating them on Mondays because you knew they'd stop coming.
ReplyDeleteI feel like crying.
heart broken.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete.... this reminded me of every hallmark movie ever....... Truly stunning
ReplyDeleteImagine mondays like that.
ReplyDeleteHoly S I'm sorry.
ReplyDeleteTragic
beautiful
flowers
little girls
my daughter
youth
death
life
and everything in between.
You make me want to write something.
I want to write something as meaningful has you have done. But I can't fit emotion into words as eloquently as you can.
ReplyDeleteThank you for always writing with your heart.
My heart just sank. I'm so sorry. This was beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I can't breathe because of that post or because of my cold.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely the post. Wow.
this took my breath away.
ReplyDeleteand made my stomach feel something inside.
i'm jealous of your gift for writing.
it truly is absolutely beautiful.
this post is one of my all time favorites.
the last lines gave me chills and i love love love your writing and you and everything about your blog
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteJust some Saturday morning blog reading. This one brought me to tears. Brought me back to the slam when you read and I could hear your voice reading this. So good Madeline. So many feelings.
ReplyDeletejust casually stalking your blog and stumbled across this piece. it gets more beautiful every time. makes me feel so much and miss you so much.
ReplyDelete