A Falling Drop

• Kallie Ryan, Grade 8
• Poetry
• 2010

Dedicated to Kathleen Ryan

The test results arrive, it’s back again, for good this time.

A quiet call from the hospital; that’s all it takes. The disbelief, ignoring the facts. The thousand phone calls, from family and people you’ve never heard of. The gifts of food, lasagne and curried fish, put straight into the freezer, don’t feel like eating.

The planning of services; who’s going to carry it? Family, friends or both? What type of wood? Pine or oak? Sausages or sandwidges? Calling the local church; cremate or bury? Which cemetery? Ending up next to her father.

The red eyes cleverly covered with sunglasses. The smudged make-up, expensive mascara running down cheeks, boxes of tissues near-by, most are nearly empty. The fancy clothes, they’ll hold her memory forever. The stuttered speeches and the sandwidges left untouched.

The anger starts, why did she leave, how could she do this to us? Then the grief sets in, fading slowly, but never completely disappearing.

She was like a drop of water, falling quickly, pausing for a second on the surface before collapsing.