Thursday, May 6, 2010

Touching Hope, Sally



















Touching Hope.
Sally.
Photograph.

:::

about the piece.
Sally describes the photograph, "This is a picture I took just a few weeks after I had Hope. Not long after she was born, I had my favourite photo of her made in to a canvas print for my wall and when it first arrived, I couldn't stop touching it. I was like that with all photos of Hope initially. I would just run my fingers over them and try to remember running my fingers over her soft, cool face. Especially my lap top screen, which I had a photo of her as my screensaver on.

"It seemed so pathetic and sad to be touching photos, touching my laptop screen, touching a canvas print to try and remember how it felt to touch her, but that was all I had and all I still have. Just one of my many, slightly crazy, grief behaviours that only other grieving mothers and fathers will ever understand. I guess it is like sniffing their clothes and blankets, trying to still drink them in when the smell has clearly already long faded.

"I guess I just thought for a website that is for and about dead babies, we don't always see a lot of the dead babies themselves. So this is my photo, Touching Hope."

about the contributor.
Sally is a mother to her lost daughter Hope, stillborn at 40 weeks and 5 days in August 2008 and her brand new son Angus, born alive and screaming in November 2009. She maintains the blog Tuesday's Hope.

10 comments:

  1. It's beautiful Sal. Love you much, suz xxx

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  2. Lovely picture of sweet little hope, touched by her mama. Love it. xo

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  3. I remember touching Liam's face through his photo, his lips, his hands, his feet - but all were just paper images of my boy. I would kiss him through the cold glass.... so sad I would never know the feeling of kissing sweet babies warm face. Oh, I miss him.

    This is a lovely photo of Hope, thanks for sharing.

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  4. She is such a beautiful girl, Sally. Love this photo.

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  5. It's beautiful Sal. Just beautiful. xx

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  6. The photo itself is so powerful, and then reading your explanation just clarifies my initial feelings on looking at you touching Hope.
    So sad, but I think only we babylost can understand. x

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  7. It's a beautiful picture of Hope!!

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  8. Been there... still there some days. Gorgeous photo.

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  9. Thank you, Angie.
    Thank you, everyone.

    xo

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