For Jared who Lost his Best Friend to Cancer
“Jared's Best Friend, Summer”
At one of my Author school visits, I had just finished an hour presentation and was getting ready for the next one, when I noticed a little boy and his teacher standing near the door. When the last of the other children had left, the two came over to talk to me.
The teacher, Mrs. Terry, introduced me to Jared, who asked if I had any poems about a best friend —-his was a girl named Summer and she died from cancer very recently. They had been friends since Kindergarten.
I sat at one of the desks while Jared told me all about Summer. They were both 3rd graders and they lived next door to each other. I quickly took notes as Summer came alive for me through Jared’s words. I was touched by his devotion and I promised to write something for him, when I was home again.
(Children’s Poetry from a Child’s Point of View)
My Best Friend, Summer
A Children’s Poem (for Jared)
by C.J. Heck
My best friend had lots of curls,
but she wasn't like the other girls
who stayed dressed up and always clean.
Like me, my friend wore old blue jeans.
She loved to do things, just like me,
like building forts and climbing trees.
She stubbed her toe and to stop the blood,
we both walked barefoot in the mud.
She could pitch a baseball, make it fly,
much faster than most any guy,
and when she ran, her feet had wings.
My best friend could do anything.
All summer long we played outside,
pretending things and riding bikes,
or sometimes, wading in the creek
where she slipped and fell and skinned her knee.
One autumn day, I saw her cry.
I felt so sad when she told me why.
The doctors told her she was sick
and she needed treatment really quick.
Her parents drove her, I watched them go,
and doctors still don't really know
just how to cure the thing she had
that made her sick and feel so bad.
One rainy night she went away,
up to heaven where she will stay,
but her memory will never end ...
'cause I'll always remember
… my best friend.
Poet/Writer/Author of 5 books.
Quora Top Writer 2018.
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What a wonderful poem for Jared and the rest of us! Thanks for sharing😊.
thank you for sharing time with Jared so he could voice his love and his pain through his friends loss. I hope the poem will help other kids face this hard thing. things out of our hands, confusing things and yes. death, which connects all of us.