Iphigene here.
October is filled with celebration in my family. Five of us, celebrate our birthday in October. Since 2014, I get a little bit sentimental in October. As soon as October began, my paternal aunt would call me up, asking me what we would be preparing for the upcoming celebrations. We would exchange notes on menu’s, she would come up with the entrée and I would suggest a salad, a side dish and dessert. Then we would split the cooking between us. My aunt passed away in April last year due to an aneurysm.
A few days ago, I found myself looking through my computer folders. I clicked on the videos I made for my aunt’s wake and funeral. At the end of the video, I had included a little poem I wrote. I didn’t think this would be the poem I would be sharing today, but as my aunt’s memory surface I felt compelled to share this piece.
Death came quietly,
Swiftly.
In the midst of life
Joyous.
We grieve in tears
In memory
Of life lived
Of life loved
And of peace deserved
Of God’s child
Returning into His arms
To life eternal
To life joyous.
For more poems, head on to Amy @The Poem Farm. Thanks Amy for hosting today’s Poetry Friday!
Gathering Books 
So heartfelt, Iphigene. Beautiful.
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Thanks Myra. 🙂
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As a fellow October baby whose mother, also an October baby, died a few years ago, I make your poem my own in tribute to her. Thank you for giving voice to emotions that are difficult to give voice to. “Deep calls to deep” is what I wrote about this week. Your post is living evidence. Thank you. God bless you, and eternal rest for your beloved aunt.
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Happy Birthday! I am glad that this poem is able to speak for you. When I wrote it, I was very emotional but at the same time able to look at her death as both a sorrowful and joyful experience.
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First some apologies…After I commented on your site, I realized I should have asked when your October birthday is/was. Late or early: Happy Birthday! God bless you!!! …Thank you for your birthday wishes to me; I appreciate your thoughtfulness and kindness…Next–sorry it has taken me so long to respond to your comment. I appreciate so much that you took time to write. Speaking of writing, I started writing about my mother’s death; I just can’t finish it (yet). As a hospice volunteer, I thought I was prepared for her death, a death I prayed would come faster than it did so that the deterioration would end; I wasn’t. Thank you for sharing the bitter-sweetness; for dignifying life and death with a poetic voice. I admire what you have done!
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Late October. Towards the end of the month. Thanks for the greeting.
I think, no one is ready for death. In concept, some of us have befriended death as we are either exposed to it or fascinated by it, but a loss is a loss. Death removes the physical presence of a person in our life and no one can prepare us for that.
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No wonder October makes you sentimental, Iphigene. Just reading your post made *me* miss your aunt. Lovely poem for her — I’ll bet the videos were wonderful.
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Hi Tabatha,
Thank you. Watching through the video and even reading the eulogy i wrote brought back a lot of memories. She was like a mother to me. I learned a lot of my domestic skills from her.
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What a beautiful poem celebrating a life well-lived, well-loved. October is full of goodnesses for you, and thank you for sharing this one with us. Happy Poetry Friday, and Happy October Birthday too. xo
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Hi Amy,
thank you. When i grieved for my aunt, I realize that she was so much part of everyone’s life. She knew all of our favorite meals and was in constant communication with me and my cousins, despite how dispersed we were. She was that sort of aunt and i realize even to her last breath (she was eating a meal with her son) she was living life with so much joy.
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Iphigene, Your poem is a lovely tribute, and I’m sure your Aunt would have loved it. Funny how food often reminds us of the people with whom we eat it or the people who taught us to make it. My favorite Aunt got cancer, and while she was enduring the treatment, I couldn’t make the food she’d taught me without adding a bit of my own salt to the dish. I’m fortunate that she survived. I just talked to her yesterday on the phone. She’s waiting to see what her cancer markers are doing. Fingers crossed they haven’t gone up. But every memory of her is precious. And I will never eat Mexican food without thinking of her. XOXO
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I’m crossing my fingers for you both. Thank you for sharing that story. Yes, the very nature of food how we dine in celebration makes it rich with memories. My aunt had her own barbecue and spaghetti recipe that she would cook for us. We miss it so badly during celebrations, so much so this october.
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BBQ and spaghetti combined? Too bad she didn’t teach one of you to make it. My husband’s grandfather is 102 this year, and he taught me to make his cabbage rolls. He’s no longer able. I was able to make them for him for the last several years. He never had faith I would get it right, but in the end, he always liked them. 😉
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It is indeed unfortunate. We will have to just access our memories for it. That sounds lovely, to be able to inherit a tradition. 🙂
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🙂 It is lovely to have the continuity.
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Beautifully written for your aunt, Iphigene. There are family birthdays in our family in October too. I love hearing about your celebration traditions, made all the more poignant remembering your aunt today.
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Hi Linda,
Thank you. Those phone calls were habit. And she would nag about it all the time, but we both enjoyed the cooking and the planning. We were both big in family traditions. It was her that thought me how to buy ingredients and to cook the traditional meals. As I reply to everyone’s comments, i find myself reminiscing and missing her more. 🙂
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Just beautiful – you were truly connected, and in that you are lucky.
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Thank you Tara. Yes, I definitely felt I was lucky to have had her in my life. 🙂
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My heart goes out to you, Iphigene.
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Thank you Michelle.
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Thank you for sharing this beautiful tribute.
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Thank you for taking the time to read it. 🙂
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