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The Weight of a Soul
The winner of the prestigious Walt Whitman award for her book "The Hocus Pocus of the Universe" completed her second book of poetry "The Weight of a Soul" while living in Fairhope, Alabama, just before her death. It reflects the values she embraced while working as a registered nurse.
- GenresPoetry
176 pages, Paperback
First published October 17, 2008
About the author
Laura Gilpin
2 books38 followersLaura Crafton Gilpin (1950–2007) was an American poet, nurse, and advocate for hospital reform. She won the Walt Whitman Award.
Gilpin was born on October 10, 1950 to Robert Crafton Gilpin and Bertha Burghard. Gilpin attended Sarah Lawrence College and Columbia University.
In 1976, Gilpin was awarded the Walt Whitman Award by the Academy of American Poets for her book of poems titled The Hocus-Pocus of the Universe. She was selected by William Stafford. Gilpin later wrote another book of poetry, titled The Weight of a Soul. Her work was also published in the magazine Poetry.
In 1981, Gilpin became a registered nurse. She was a founding member of Planetree, which has been described as a "pioneering organization dedicated to humanizing patient care in hospitals". Gilpin worked to develop and implement hospital care centered around patients.
Gilpin died on February 15, 2007 in Fairhope, Alabama, at age 56.
Gilpin was born on October 10, 1950 to Robert Crafton Gilpin and Bertha Burghard. Gilpin attended Sarah Lawrence College and Columbia University.
In 1976, Gilpin was awarded the Walt Whitman Award by the Academy of American Poets for her book of poems titled The Hocus-Pocus of the Universe. She was selected by William Stafford. Gilpin later wrote another book of poetry, titled The Weight of a Soul. Her work was also published in the magazine Poetry.
In 1981, Gilpin became a registered nurse. She was a founding member of Planetree, which has been described as a "pioneering organization dedicated to humanizing patient care in hospitals". Gilpin worked to develop and implement hospital care centered around patients.
Gilpin died on February 15, 2007 in Fairhope, Alabama, at age 56.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 15, 2019
Has a lot of sweet poems, really like the cow one made me weepy
May 24, 2021
GoodReads doesn't have enough stars for this book.
The title poem of this book begins with a medical experiment weighing bodies before and after death. The minute drop in body weight is attributed to the "weight of the soul" and the title poem imagines the lifting of that tiny weight from the body and its journey from the hospital on a breath of air. It is one of the most poignant poems of grief and loss that I have ever read.
Laura Gilpin's poetry was stellar, is stellar, will always be. If you missed knowing her, don't miss the chance to know her poems. (Look also for "The Hocus-Pocus of the Universe".)
No, I haven't read the whole book yet. I don't have to, I have read the title poem and that's enough. The rest will come when I am ready. You can't read right through this book. There's too much "there" there.
I know, I know: it is almost impossible to find a copy of this book for sale. All the more reason to stop at every yard sale, go to every library, scour every bookshop. It's worth the wait.
The title poem of this book begins with a medical experiment weighing bodies before and after death. The minute drop in body weight is attributed to the "weight of the soul" and the title poem imagines the lifting of that tiny weight from the body and its journey from the hospital on a breath of air. It is one of the most poignant poems of grief and loss that I have ever read.
Laura Gilpin's poetry was stellar, is stellar, will always be. If you missed knowing her, don't miss the chance to know her poems. (Look also for "The Hocus-Pocus of the Universe".)
No, I haven't read the whole book yet. I don't have to, I have read the title poem and that's enough. The rest will come when I am ready. You can't read right through this book. There's too much "there" there.
I know, I know: it is almost impossible to find a copy of this book for sale. All the more reason to stop at every yard sale, go to every library, scour every bookshop. It's worth the wait.
August 6, 2025
[The Bath]
I stand here bathing her
while she sleeps
in a far place beyond my reaching.
I bathe her
as I have been taught to do:
first the eyes, then the forehead,
the face, the neck.
And as I work
I talk to her—in case she hears me
(believing that hearing is the last to go).
I tell her—I don’t know why
but I tell her the time, the day,
the season, what the weather is doing,
lifting each arm to wash and dry it,
laying it down again at her side,
then the chest, the abdomen, each leg.
She offers no resistance,
except that of gravity,
the earth pulling her
down while I lift,
as though something between us
is being weighed.
Then I turn her to wash her back
talking to her about what seems to matter
in this life—though I make no promises.
Only this morning
the promise of spring was in the air
and I tell her that.
I stand here bathing her
while she sleeps
in a far place beyond my reaching.
I bathe her
as I have been taught to do:
first the eyes, then the forehead,
the face, the neck.
And as I work
I talk to her—in case she hears me
(believing that hearing is the last to go).
I tell her—I don’t know why
but I tell her the time, the day,
the season, what the weather is doing,
lifting each arm to wash and dry it,
laying it down again at her side,
then the chest, the abdomen, each leg.
She offers no resistance,
except that of gravity,
the earth pulling her
down while I lift,
as though something between us
is being weighed.
Then I turn her to wash her back
talking to her about what seems to matter
in this life—though I make no promises.
Only this morning
the promise of spring was in the air
and I tell her that.
August 4, 2025
new fave poet
August 1, 2025
my favs:
- picking blueberries
- for my mother on mother’s day
- with strings attached
- falling stars
- dinosaurs
- in self-defence
- a happy birthday poem to myself (october 1977)
laura gilpin i love you 💔
- picking blueberries
- for my mother on mother’s day
- with strings attached
- falling stars
- dinosaurs
- in self-defence
- a happy birthday poem to myself (october 1977)
laura gilpin i love you 💔
June 4, 2026
as many people did, i came across laura gilpin's work through the infamous "two-headed calf" . it beautifully evoked sentiments i hadn't felt in a while and proved, once again, the power of poetry; simple, imaginative poetry.
a few years later, i received an email from a poetry collective i've followed for years, shedding light on laura's life beyond "two-headed calf." i stopped to read it and instantly fell in love with her. i learned about her life beyond the poetry - her work as a nurse, her unending attention and care for patients at the end of their lives, and her sad demise, far too early for such a wonderful woman.
this motivated me to seek out her other works and learn more about her. i searched for her online, read countless forum posts about her, and even visited her grave through a memorial website. then i stumbled upon this work, completed shortly before her death, and began reading it slowly. i like to keep books of poems and short stories at hand while reading longer works, as a sort of friend to visit every now and then and casually catch up with, and laura's poems felt just like that. i constantly returned to reread my favorites and treated this book like a visit with friends i don't see often. whenever i needed comfort, she was there.
now, on a warm thursday morning, i sat down with laura once again and finished reading the whole book. i couldn't be happier - and sadder - to have gotten to know her better. the poems remain, but the experience of encountering them for the first time is over. her words go beyond the realm of language; they touch it at an atomic level. there is something about her that speaks deeply to the human experience, and just when you think you've done it all, seen it all, she brings you back and shows you more.
i feel deeply sad knowing she is no longer around, especially because she was taken so young. but perhaps that, too, is a testament to her brilliance and kindness. she was not of this world, and if you also want to know what it is like not to be, open one of her books and take this magical trip with her.
from her poem, death:
"time stops.
at last it is quiet enough
for me to go to sleep.
time starts again,
i go on sleeping."
sleep well, laura.
a few years later, i received an email from a poetry collective i've followed for years, shedding light on laura's life beyond "two-headed calf." i stopped to read it and instantly fell in love with her. i learned about her life beyond the poetry - her work as a nurse, her unending attention and care for patients at the end of their lives, and her sad demise, far too early for such a wonderful woman.
this motivated me to seek out her other works and learn more about her. i searched for her online, read countless forum posts about her, and even visited her grave through a memorial website. then i stumbled upon this work, completed shortly before her death, and began reading it slowly. i like to keep books of poems and short stories at hand while reading longer works, as a sort of friend to visit every now and then and casually catch up with, and laura's poems felt just like that. i constantly returned to reread my favorites and treated this book like a visit with friends i don't see often. whenever i needed comfort, she was there.
now, on a warm thursday morning, i sat down with laura once again and finished reading the whole book. i couldn't be happier - and sadder - to have gotten to know her better. the poems remain, but the experience of encountering them for the first time is over. her words go beyond the realm of language; they touch it at an atomic level. there is something about her that speaks deeply to the human experience, and just when you think you've done it all, seen it all, she brings you back and shows you more.
i feel deeply sad knowing she is no longer around, especially because she was taken so young. but perhaps that, too, is a testament to her brilliance and kindness. she was not of this world, and if you also want to know what it is like not to be, open one of her books and take this magical trip with her.
from her poem, death:
"time stops.
at last it is quiet enough
for me to go to sleep.
time starts again,
i go on sleeping."
sleep well, laura.
July 3, 2024
it's time to get back into poetry B)
gilpin writes poems like home-baked goods: simple, a tad sweet, for family. a lot of these were about death and family and the bounty of nature and the simple beauties of life, which are themes that i probably wouldn't have been very interested in if i had read this years ago like i was supposed to, but am today (crazy how the character develops over time) (sometimes when i think about how much i've changed over each additional year of my life, it makes me crazy with yearning).
i think gilpin is at her best when personal & a bit more abstruse and descriptive; a lot of the early-section poems in particular were imo too straightforward, and especially the poems about large-scale war/death/tragedy felt clunky, like knocks over the head. but there are also definitely a lot of strong fully abstract philosophical lines in here. so the overall experience is being surprised by rich bursts of highly resonant & evocative language (like the chocolate chips in the home-baked goods! to extend the metaphor further) among already-solid work.
probably not a super rigorous stance to take, but i believe that the context of how a book was written factors only so much as that context is provided within the book (e.g. through foreword) (because ultimately, the book is being presented as one encapsulated product; it is the job of the editor & writing team to package that well). weight of a soul being gilpin's posthumous collection does really add to its themes & power. plus her foreword is beautiful.
gilpin writes poems like home-baked goods: simple, a tad sweet, for family. a lot of these were about death and family and the bounty of nature and the simple beauties of life, which are themes that i probably wouldn't have been very interested in if i had read this years ago like i was supposed to, but am today (crazy how the character develops over time) (sometimes when i think about how much i've changed over each additional year of my life, it makes me crazy with yearning).
i think gilpin is at her best when personal & a bit more abstruse and descriptive; a lot of the early-section poems in particular were imo too straightforward, and especially the poems about large-scale war/death/tragedy felt clunky, like knocks over the head. but there are also definitely a lot of strong fully abstract philosophical lines in here. so the overall experience is being surprised by rich bursts of highly resonant & evocative language (like the chocolate chips in the home-baked goods! to extend the metaphor further) among already-solid work.
probably not a super rigorous stance to take, but i believe that the context of how a book was written factors only so much as that context is provided within the book (e.g. through foreword) (because ultimately, the book is being presented as one encapsulated product; it is the job of the editor & writing team to package that well). weight of a soul being gilpin's posthumous collection does really add to its themes & power. plus her foreword is beautiful.
Did Not Finish
August 25, 2025The two-headed calf
Tomorrow when the farm boys find this
freak of nature, they will wrap his body
in newspaper and carry him to the museum.
But tonight he is alive and in the north
field with his mother. It is a perfect
summer evening: the moon rising over
the orchard, the wind in the grass.
And as he stares into the sky, there are
twice as many stars as usual.
Tomorrow when the farm boys find this
freak of nature, they will wrap his body
in newspaper and carry him to the museum.
But tonight he is alive and in the north
field with his mother. It is a perfect
summer evening: the moon rising over
the orchard, the wind in the grass.
And as he stares into the sky, there are
twice as many stars as usual.
Want to Read
July 1, 2024available to read for free here!
December 31, 2025
3.5. i didn't love this one like i did with hocus pocus, but there were a few good poems that i enjoyed
March 11, 2026
Absolutely, heartbreakingly beautiful.
June 6, 2009
The weight of a soul is very light, and apparently very brief. I haven't quite figured out whether the poems are mediocre or skillful, whether I like this book or not. I'm torn. Her poetry which reads more like a memoir broken up into vignettes chronicling her life and less like poetry. I think I need to let this book sink in more before I can analyze it objectively....four stars for now.
October 18, 2016
"Rings" and "The Two-Headed Calf" are two of my absolute favorite poems. The magic in these makes this book so worth it and it glitters in some of the other poems too. I have to begrudgingly give it 3 stars though, because if I'm being truthful, half the poems didn't say much of anything or inspire me in any way. There are gems here, but some rough as well.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews