At the End of Words: A Daughter's Memoir, by Miriam Stone

(0763618543)

A thin memoir written for teens by a teen, only 55 pages of poetry interspersed with monthly entries about her mother's death and the months that followed. It gives on hope for the future of the language to read such words written by young people.

Just Between Breaths

Hour over

hour


I watch her rise

and fall.


In between breaths,


the room throbs.

My fingers scream.


I wait for her white

cheeks to move.


My heart stops.

I stare until


the breathing breaks.


I sleep beside her,

curled in jeans on the floor,


yellow morning

spreads over me.


Voices circle,

pale nurses swarm,


I hear only my own breath.