International Babylost Mother's Day

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about this piece.
Carly organized the first International Babylost Mother's Day (IBMD) on May 2nd. In Carly's words, "IBMD recognizes babylost women all over the world as mothers. Just because a woman loses her first baby does not mean that she is not a mother anymore. She will be a mother for the rest of her life. On this special day in May we come together to celebrate our connection, our children and our hope for the future. IBMD is a day for love, peace, remembrance and recognition." Carly asked for a poem about a flower to accompany her beautiful photograph of a flower, and asked Jess to read the piece for IBMD. Angie wrote this for Carly, and Jess read it on her website, After Iris Reads Aloud.

about the contributors.
Angie is the editor of this space. Carly maintains a blog at Love Reign Over Me. Jess is the creative force and voice forAfter Iris Reads Aloud.

Never, Ines and Jess

Never. 2009 and 2010
Written by Ines. Read aloud by Jess.

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about the piece.
Ines wrote the initial poetry which makes up the poem Never online as part of a post she wrote on her blog about her son Fionn. When in January Jess invited her to send a piece of poetry or other work for her to read, Ines went back to edit and recreate the poem as it is read by Jess, now. Jess recorded Never in memory of Fionn for her blog After Iris Reads Aloud. This recording of the poem was the only one she managed to get through without breaking down in tears. Without their friendship, this poem wouldn't have been written or read the way you find it here today.

about the contributors.
Ines and Jess live in the same hemisphere and time zone but on opposite sides of the Irish Sea. Although they hovered on the edges of each others' blogs for a while, they became good friends when they took part in Mother Henna's Dia De Los Muertos heART swap.

Ines maintains a number of blogs: forward tumble; daily forward tumble, chronicling her Creative Everyday Challenge; Fionn, a blog about her son; and tunnel time, a blog about growing vegetables in a poly tunnel in Ireland. Jess has been blogging about her life after the death of her daughter Iris since September 2008. She has recently started a blog called After Iris Reads Aloud, where she makes voice recordings in memory of a loved one.

Oaths, Jess from After Iris

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

about the poet.
Jess lives in Birmingham, United Kingdom, with her husband David and children Ava and Moe. Jess' second daughter Iris was stillborn May 2008. For work, Jess creates and facilitates drama-based communication and cultural programmes for large organisations. She also owns a family business with her husband: an artisan cheese shop and deli called Capeling and Co. She maintains a blog called After Iris. Jess has begun a blog, After Iris Reads Aloud, where she makes voice recordings of a favorite poem or meaningful piece of writing in the memory of a loved one.