Help with memorial book entry

[loira]

H and I lost our first daughter, V, at 24 weeks. Her ashes are scattered in a children's memorial garden in London. I have recently moved back to Canada, and H will be joining me shortly before Christmas. Since we won't be able to visit the garden any time we choose, we'd like to put an entry in the garden's memorial book. We'd get about 5 lines of text in addition to her name, but we're at a loss as to what to write. H is counting on me to come up with something, because I'm the wordsmith of the 2 of us, but I'm finding it very difficult. Nothing I think of seems good enough for her. We'd be open to a quote from a poem or a book.

I'd be very grateful for any suggestions.

[SwimDeep]

I am so sorry for your loss.

Wordsworth is one of my favorite poets, and he wrote a beautiful poem called "It Was An April Morning". Perhaps you could replace the name EMMA with V's name?
Of course, you wouldn't be able to fit the entire poem in five lines, but you might be able to find some inspiration here.




It Was An April Morning: Fresh And Clear - Poem by William Wordsworth

It was an April morning: fresh and clear
The Rivulet, delighting in its strength,
Ran with a young man's speed; and yet the voice
Of waters which the winter had supplied
Was softened down into a vernal tone.
The spirit of enjoyment and desire,
And hopes and wishes, from all living things
Went circling, like a multitude of sounds.
The budding groves seemed eager to urge on
The steps of June; as if their various hues
Were only hindrances that stood between
Them and their object: but, meanwhile, prevailed
Such an entire contentment in the air
That every naked ash, and tardy tree
Yet leafless, showed as if the countenance
With which it looked on this delightful day
Were native to the summer.--Up the brook
I roamed in the confusion of my heart,
Alive to all things and forgetting all.
At length I to a sudden turning came
In this continuous glen, where down a rock
The Stream, so ardent in its course before,
Sent forth such sallies of glad sound, that all
Which I till then had heard, appeared the voice
Of common pleasure: beast and bird, the lamb,
The shepherd's dog, the linnet and the thrush
Vied with this waterfall, and made a song,
Which, while I listened, seemed like the wild growth
Or like some natural produce of the air,
That could not cease to be. Green leaves were here;
But 'twas the foliage of the rocks--the birch,
The yew, the holly, and the bright green thorn,
With hanging islands of resplendent furze:
And, on a summit, distant a short space,
By any who should look beyond the dell,
A single mountain-cottage might be seen.
I gazed and gazed, and to myself I said,
'Our thoughts at least are ours; and this wild nook,
My EMMA, I will dedicate to thee.'
----Soon did the spot become my other home,
My dwelling, and my out-of-doors abode.
And, of the Shepherds who have seen me there,
To whom I sometimes in our idle talk
Have told this fancy, two or three, perhaps,
Years after we are gone and in our graves,
When they have cause to speak of this wild place,
May call it by the name of EMMA'S DELL.

[sonrisa]

I'm so sorry for your loss. How awful.

What is your most salient memory of her?

[jlt19]

I'm so sorry for your loss and that you will be so far away from her

[sonrisa]

BTW: will they let you take a small flower to press from the garden? A way to take that place with you?

[loira]

Nov 16, 2015 14:58:50 GMT -5 sonrisa said:

I'm so sorry for your loss. How awful.

What is your most salient memory of her?

Sorry, I should have clarified. I meant we lost her when I was 24 weeks pregnant. I don't have many memories of her, other than that she looked tiny but beautiful. I was in a pretty thick morphine haze at the time.

[loira]

Nov 16, 2015 15:00:33 GMT -5 sonrisa said:

BTW: will they let you take a small flower to press from the garden? A way to take that place with you?

For the past year we have been secretly placing pretty little rocks we'd picked up on our travels behind a large rock in the garden, but this is a good idea. I'll ask H if he can find out.

[UnderProtest]

Anything you write will be lovely. Don't stress yourself that it isn't good enough.