“Young Dimas Rosas, Deceased at Age Three, 1937” by Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda

Hands with Jacob's ladder
Image by Kristin Beeler

“The death that moves me the most is the slow death of a young person—”
Frida Kahlo

I robe you for Paradise,
surround you with marigolds.
Sleeping child, saintly
in a mantle, brown feet
bared from birth to death:
O how you loved
delphiniums and baby’s breath
in the courtyard of my home,
your mother calling you
to her side as she swept
the walkway.  I crown you,
array you like a king
in plush gold, paint your eyes
slightly open as if still alive
with wonder.  The gladiolus:
spiritual blossoms in your hands
spread as apricot wings
to lift you: an angelito
into blue skies far from
the judgment hall of our elders.

 

 

Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda has published five books of poetry and co-edited two poetry anthologies.  Her poems have appeared in numerous magazines, including Autumn Sky Poetry, Nimrod, Prairie Schooner, Mid-American Review, Best of Literary Journals, with work forthcoming in Poet Lore and An Endless Skyway, an anthology of poems by U.S. State Poets Laureate.  She has received five grants from the Virginia Commission for the Arts, a Council for Basic Education fellowship award, an Edgar Allan Poe first-place award, a Virginia Cultural Laureate Award, four Pushcart nominations, and many others. Carolyn also works as a visual artist.  She served as Poet Laureate of Virginia, 2006-2008.

Read our interview with Carolyn here.