Irwin1

DanielIrwin
OConnor
HonorsEnglish9
6April2016
EverythingWillBeOK
Inthatfirstgradeclasstheycameandgotme
"Yourmom'soutside,saygoodbyenowtoeverybody"
UHaulwaswaitingwithallofherthings
Atleastwhatshecouldpack
Inthetimemydad'satworkandbeforehecameback
Waytoyoungtocomprehendwhatwashappening
"Arewegoingtograndma's?Whenarewecomingbackagain?"
LittledidIknowthatwewereleavinghimbyhimself
AndtenyearswouldpassbeforeMomseesanybodyelse
Justus,inmiddleschoolIain'tunderstand
WhoMelissawasandwhyshewasn'tanotherman
Biasedandconfusedtheytrytoexplainbutnobodycan
WantedwhatIthoughtwasnormal,shehadanotherplan
Suchislife,evenifittooktimeformetoacceptit
NolongerDadnow,butawomanwithwhomshesleptwith
Orfortheyearswhenasecretwashowshekeptit
Iain'tgetit,admittedlyIwasskeptic

Irwin2

Icamearound,happinessIsee'swhatyoumayhavefound
Andthat'swhat'smostimportant
Idontwannaseeyoubreakingdown
Iwannaseeyousmile,Idon'twannaseeyoumakeafrown
Ifshelovesyou,thenthat'sallanybodyneedsmaybenow
By'05thingshadgottenworse
Movedtothebasement,deepdepressionsarottencurse
Hidinginadarkspace,hermindandherbodyhurts
Becomingmorereclusiveandthepillsshouldhavebeenalerts
Sotheworseitgot,Ibecamemoreandmoreafraid
Untilonenight,Iwentintothatroom,onthefloorshelaid
Ishookhershewasblue,herskinwascold,shewasn'tbreathing
Screamed,"Melissawakeup"couldn'tfathomthatshewasleaving
MomandBrowasrunningdown,Iscreamed"somebodyhelp"
Trypumpingherchest,CPR,butitdidnthelp
Toughestpilltoswallow,butwelost,thatsforcedreflection
Whileinherlifeyoumadeherhappy,thankyoufortheblessing

GeraldGillumusesanimmenseamountofimageryanduniquedictionalongwithalittle
bitofironytohelpthereaderunderstandthemessageheistryingtogetacross.Inadarkgloomy
tone,thepoemdescribesthebeginningandendingofanodd,complexrelationshipwithinafew
lines.WiththebeginningdescribingtheskepticversionofGeraldwhowantstofitinandthen

Irwin3

quicklymovingintothestagewhereheisacceptingher,andlastlythestagewhereshepasses
away.Withinalloftheseemotionshealsowritesabouthowhehadtokeepupwithhisbusylife.
Thisthenpaintstheimagethatissoclearthatpeopleoftenlookpastithisfamilycamebefore
anythingelse,includinghimself.
Likemanyotherpoems,thisisanarrativeelegyforhisstepmother,Mellisa,whohas
passedaway.Thebeginningdescribeshisconfusionatthewholesituationathand.Whenhefirst
foundouthismotherlefthisfather,hedidn'tactuallyknowwhatwashappening.Hehadmany
questionslikeArewegoingtograndmas?Whenarewecomingbackagain(Gillum).Gillum
simplythoughtthattheywerevisitingtheirgrandmother,buthequicklyfoundoutthatwouldnot
behappening.Hewasskepticaboutthewholesituationatfirstbecausehavingtwomomswas
thecompleteoppositeofnormalandeverythingthatwaspraised.Especiallysinceallthatreally
mattersatages1017seemstobefittinginwithothers,andthat'ssomethingthathewasnotable
todoeasily.Atthetimeofallofthishappening,beingAtthistimeinhislife,in1995,things
seemedtoberoughandanoverallmessforGerald.
LateroninthispoemGillumfinallyfindsacceptanceandthingsaregoingwellandthen
itallcomesathimlikeatrain.Hismotherbecamedepressedandstartedtakingantidepressants
tohelpaidherinrecovery.ItsoonbecamesobadthatGillumwouldcallitarottencurse
whichgoestoshowthatit'ssomethingthatisextremelyhorrid.Afterawhileshecommitted
suicidebyoverdosingonantidepressants.Thesettingwashorrificallyuglyatthistime.The
settingisbestexpressedwhenphraseslikeshewasblueandherskinwascoldareusedfor
thereadertobeabletocomprehendwhatwashappeningatthetimewiththeintensityitheld.
Also,itimmersesthereaderinwhatwashappening.Whenhestatesthatitwasthetoughestpill

Irwin4

toswallowheusingthistoshowhowitwastoughforhisfamilytoacceptthefactthatshedied.
Also,itisaformofironysinceshediedtoswallowingtoomanypills.
Gillum'simmenseamountofimageryhelpstrulyportraywhatthescenemusthavereally
beenlike.WheneversomeoneisHidinginadarkspaceandhermindandherbodyhurts
thereisclearlysomethingwrong.Adarkspaceisnotactuallyadarkroomor,althoughitmay
be,it'snotwhatheisreferringto.Thisdarkspacethatheisreferringtoisactuallyherown
mind.Shewashidinginit,becomingselfconsciousabouteverythingandoverthinkingevery
singlesituationpossible.GillumcanseethatHermindandherbodyhurtsbecauseshewasnot
onlyphysicallyweak,butweakminded.ThelargedosesofantidepressantsMellisawastakingat
onceprobablyimpairedmanypartsofherbrain.Sheprobablyhadanimmenseamountofsleep
lossanddidnoteatmuchsoshebecamephysicallyweak.
Toconclude,Gillumuseslotsofimageryalongwithliteralmeaningtodescribethe
settingandeventsthatcamealongwiththedeathofhisstepmotherMellisa.Althoughfigurative
meaningmayallowpeopletointerpretthemeaningmanydifferentways,Gillumdecidednotto
useasmuchbecauseheknewexactlywhathappened.Hewantedtomakesurepeopleknewthe
correctstory,andwhathewentthrough.