I wanted to write a positive and uplifting poem about all the people with PSP.
I feel it does take a lot of courage when people are facing a serious illness. There are many challenges every day and many opportunities to lessen the frustrations. I have been fortunate to find a creative outlet through my poetry and I hope it gives people with this illness some inspiration.
Shana, one of my daughters gave me a beautiful stained glass with dry flowers in the middle. After a while, the flowers got faded. One time she came to visit and she said the flowers needed to get thrown away. I wanted to keep the beautiful frame. So, I made a small heart quilt to replace the dry flowers. It’s the smallest quilt I’ve ever made and I just love it. It has special meaning because Shanna gave it to me. One day when I was going to Mexico, I bought a butterfly pin in the duty-free shop and added it to the quilt. It has been in our dining room for many years.
Rainbow Sherbet
This is one of the few quilts that I machine quilted. I bought a lot of the hand dyed fabrics at a quilt show and added a lot of black to it in between the stripes. I love the vibrant colors in it. When I would show it at presentations, I would use it as a break in between the usual pink and blue colored quilts.
I met Libby in college and she later married Jim. In his fifties, Jim was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. I wrote three poems at different stages of their lives. While writing these poems I imagined how Libby must have felt as his illness was progressing. Libby was a really good caregiver and she arranged for night time caregivers to come in and help with Jim. We went to visit them several times after his diagnosis. I remember feeling sad when Libby said she was losing her partner, lover and best friend.
Music Box Quilt
I belonged to a group a few years ago that exchanged Christmas presents. People could either choose to open a wrapped present from under the tree or steal a gift that someone has already opened. When my turn came, I decided to steal the music box because I could imagine it with a small quilt on the top. This is the smallest quilt I’ve made.
Roman Stripes
This is a traditional quilt that I made several years ago.I like the color of the pinks in the stripes.
My very good friend Shanna, who has the same name as our daughter (although they spell it differently) had a long and happy relationship with her significant other, John. The day after he died, I called her and said that I wrote a poem for her, as if she were talking to John, and I warned her it might make her cry. She said that was okay, she was crying a lot anyway. I read it to her and she did cry and said “That’s beautiful. Will you send me a copy?” I told her I would. Her sister was staying with her and Shanna didn’t feel up to seeing anyone else at that time. Shanna asked me if I would read it to her sister which I did. My heart was breaking for my friend but I felt I had helped her in some small way by putting into words some of the feelings she felt. Shanna asked me to read this poem at the celebration of John’s life.
