Although Your Feet Never Walked

November 30 2017, I began to make a photo album in memory of Amanda. I wrote down her names, her date of birth, death and funeral in my most beautiful handwriting. Then I pasted a photo of the imprint of her feet with this poem underneath:

Although your feet never walked
not even moved
when you came
Still you crawled into our world
moved us
set us aflame

You left an imprint
a trace that is ingrained
I can talk about it for hours
so big is our happiness and los

Our happiness, because you were welcome, perfect and beautiful
So many times we have been thanking for you, you were a gift

And our loss, because we would have loved to see you grow up here
See you play and joke around with the other children

Entrusting you to the earth from which God formed you was the hardest thing there is
But no matter how small you were, your fragile existence also was your powerful testimony
You proved the existence of a Creator
You were formed so wonderfully in my lap
You proved the existence of Love
So deep is our pride and our grief since you died

Although your feet never walked
not even moved
when you came
Still you left an imprint
A trace
And my heart testifies of it

First published in Dutch on November 30,2017