Husband Death Poem

How Life Changes After A Loved One Dies

W H Auden wrote the poem Stop All The Clocks with reference to a loved one dying - I didn't need to stop all the clocks after my husband died - they stopped of their own accord.

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Pat, thank you, thank you, thank you for getting it. You always connect to my emotions that create the poem in the first place. You are a very special person. Ann x

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The Clocks Have All Stopped

Published by Family Friend Poems October 25, 2024 with permission of the Author.

(He used to wind them
once a week.)

A dark oak clock
on the mantlepiece
stands bleak
above an empty grate
once a source
of warmth and light.

There is a slight glow
from the clock
on his desk
made of gilded brass
a farewell gift
from his final post.

The grandfather clock
a valued antique
stands silent in the hall
no further chimes
no pendulum swings
hands don't move any more.

The only sound left
is the faintest tick
from a well-worn watch
with its military band
a familiar fixture on his wrist
I now hold it in my hand.

ABOUT THE POET:

Ann D. Stevenson only began writing after she retired, when she joined a Writing for Well-Being course. It was during a difficult time, as her husband had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. She found writing very therapeutic, more especially poetry. It was a real boost to her morale when Family Friend Poems began publishing her...

more by Ann D. Stevenson

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