noBAC.org: "Shopping Day", a poem by Jackie Engle; a poem in memory of a DUI Victim

DUI Poems

Mark Hammon (© January 1992) drew his friend, 14-year old DUI victim Mark Engle, entering ‘the pearly gates’

Jackie Engle (owner and editor of this Move To No BAC web site) describes her feelings and thoughts as a mother who not only had to deal with the sudden death of a beloved son but also had to select a casket for his funeral 4 days later.

Mark Engle (14), Ashley Sweeney (15), Phil Shinner (19), and Clinton Sweeney (11) had been walking diagonally two by two on the shoulder of an Island County WA road the last afternoon in 1991 when they were struck from behind by an alcohol-impaired driver who did not stop to render aid.

Shopping Day

In memory of Mark Engle, 6-29-77 to 12-31-91

A shopping day—but without fun—
Comparing caskets for our son.
Imagine him inside each one.

Which casket is the one where he
Will lay throughout eternity?

(Joys we had shared for fourteen years
Are substituted now with tears,
Because someone sipped wine one day,
Then drove—and took our son away.)

Finally a box is found,
I can barely make a sound:
This one will go underground.

This casket is the one where he
Will lay throughout eternity.

Poem in text format (.rtf)

(Jackie Engle’s poem was published online by (poetry.com) and published in hardback by The International Library of Poetry ("Devotions Of The Mind", ©2001, p.54)

Please do not copy this poem without first contacting the author and getting permission. Then, be sure to add the author’s name, copyright information, and a link to the author’s e-mail address to your copy of this poem. Thank you.

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