Elegy Poem by Michael Burch

Elegy for a little girl, lost
by Michael R. Burch

for my mother, Christine Ena Burch

... qui laetificat juventutem meam...
She was the joy of my youth,
and now she is gone
.... requiescat in pace...
May she rest in peace
.... amen...
Amen.

I was touched by this Latin prayer, which I discovered in a novel I read as a teenager, around age 16 or 17. I later decided to incorporate the prayer into a poem, which I started in high school and revised slightly as an adult. I dedicated the poem to my mother, Christine Ena Burch, after her death, because she always a little girl at heart, and pure of heart like a little girl.



Epitaph for a Palestinian Child
by Michael R. Burch

I lived as best I could, and then I died.
Be careful where you step: the grave is wide.