The Andrew Poems

Walt McDonald First-Book Series in Poetry

by Shelly Wagner, Walter McDonald (Preface)

On a soft summer Virginia evening Shelly Wagner was pushing her five-year-old son in a tire swing in the backyard, idling away the hours between dinner and bedtime. She left him only for a moment, but when she returned Andrew had disappeared. He was found later that night, drowned in the river behind their home. From the depths of grief that followed, Wagner began to write poems—not as therapy, she says, but to see if she could express the range of her experience more fully than the published books she’d read. What emerged from Wagner’s quest is a volume of verse that has comforted and inspired thousands of parents, patients, and other determined survivors.These clear, unflinching poems wherein she evokes the life and death of her five-year-old son are moving and unforgettable. . . . You will remember Andrew as if you had known him, this delightful boy. —RUTH STONETreasureFollow my hand into this trunk.Examine for yourself its treasure.Lift and read the heavy wooden board,a scrap of lumberon which he scrawled his name—red letters, all capitals,the E backwards.In kindergarten he learnedto sign perfectly his many drawings,the jewels of his last will and testament.Try on his brilliant yellow sunglasses.See the world as he saw it—clearlyfull of hope.Slide your hand up the sleeveof his favorite red shirtas though you were to tickle him.He would laugh. You may cry.Finally, with utmost care,hold what he made in nursery school—a white plaster cast of his hand,fingers spread wide apartas though he were telling youhow old he would be when he died.

Genres: Poetry

96 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Julia Kleyla · Rating 5 out of 5]

i friends with the authors step grandson he’s goated fr

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wagner wrote her debut collection following the death of her 5-year-old son. With rich, vivid words, she shares a little boy who played with Matchbox cars, watched soap operas with his grandmother, wore a gorilla mask to the zoo, and spent a July evening on a tire swing, then drowned in the river behind his house. Her writing pulsates with love, longing and grief. As a bereaved grandmother, these are the poems I longed for when searching validation of my own grief.

Wagner’s poetry is raw and brutally honest. There is nothing vague or abstract in these poems. No reader will close this book wondering what the poet was trying to say. She captures the madness of grief in poems describing her inability to dust or navigate the cereal aisle in the grocery store. The final stanza of “Faded” captures exactly how I felt when the first anniversary of my granddaughter’s stillbirth approached:
Someone offering comfort said,
“This will pass.”
I recoiled like a slapped child,
Fearing if the grief were to fade,
I would be left with nothing.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

An impressive emotional journey--at once honest but not identifiable. The poems where she closes with an address to her son certainly rang so true and so difficult--yes, I did cry.

The poems could have used some editing--a lot of doubly-stated moments, taking it an extra step not needed, (see what I did just there?) a few weaker poems that could have been culled.

The poems are GOOD, but they, overall, did not spark as much as five-star book might. But a keeper, which is saying something in a house when I'm desperately trying to move books on, to make room for the more books that are waiting in the wings. Means I'll probably return to it, or need it again, for whatever reason.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shelly Wagner brings words to her experience of losing her 5-year-old son to a tragic death, and invites you to feel with her and for every grief we will hold in this broken yet beautiful world. Beautifully poignant poetry that will evoke grief and joy from one line to another. It will help you grieve your losses and appreciate the gifts of family and friends.

[Cathie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnificent. Will rip your heart out. This poet lost her youngest son in 1984 when he drowned in a river behind their house. Devastatingly painful and she takes you there as only a mother can.

[Jordan Holcomb · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much emotion this book will make you cry. I love the fact that the poems told one cohesive story.