Poetry helped Cork teenager cope with tragic death of her beloved brother

WHEN you’re 14 years old, and your beloved big brother suddenly and inexplicably dies, how do you begin to deal with the grief and pain that overwhelm you?

In the case of Cork teenager Blessings Gwarimbo, you tap into the power of poetry.

Blessings, now 16, and her parents were devastated when her 17-year-old brother George went to sleep and never woke up on March 27, 2022.

The family of four suddenly became a family of three.

After losing George, Blessings found an outlet for her emotions and feelings in poetry, and penned a beautiful poem in his memory, which recently won an award.

It is called Missing You and its poignancy, power, and sense of loss will move you to tears.

Missing You

Struggling

But God’s covering.

I’m hiding in a disguise,

Trying to remember my lines.

So many tourists giving me a guide,

How do I tell them I tried.

Where’s my pride?

Oh wait, I pushed it to the side.

Feel like I can’t breathe,

Somebody set me free.

I close my eyes and I think of your coffin,

I find myself doing this often.

Why did you have to leave,

Sometimes I feel you holding my sleeve.

When I wear your hoodies it reminds me of your scent,

Makes me feel like you’re present.

Now I’m reminiscing,

Gives me sanity.

Blessings says of her brother, George: “We were best friends and inseparable. Poetry connects me to him, the ink on paper. It gives me comfort.

I never really wrote much before, but I started writing poems in the week that George died.

Her brother was a huge fan of literature and books, and Blessings says he often came home from school telling her about Shakespeare and other writers he was reading. That clearly rubbed off on his little sister.

“People say my brother would be proud of me,” says Blessings, and you know that is true.

The Carrigaline teenager’s powerful poem was awarded first prize in the Billy McCarthy Writers Competition for 12-18-year-olds at the recent Douglas Writers Club annual awards night in Douglas Library.

After being named the winner, Blessings stood at the podium in front of a large audience of people and read her poem out. You could have heard a pin fall.

The competition, named in honour of the late writer Billy McCarthy, was judged by his son, Seán, a teacher at Deerpark CBS, where Blessings is in Transition Year.

He said: “I feel the poem is a very honest and personal account of how she is coping following the loss of her brother. Several emotions are conveyed in the poem. For example, she is trying to be brave but internally she is struggling, later there is a sense of anger, followed by a feeling of comfort. 

It is obvious that Blessings’ grief is still very raw and I am sure her poem will resonate with people who suffered the sudden loss of a sibling.

“I hope she found writing the poem therapeutic. The overall standard of entries was very high but Blessings’ poem stood out.”

Blessings, George, and their parents, George Snr and Tambuozai - who are originally from Zimbabwe - were living in Swaziland in southern Africa at the time George died. He was in a boarding school and his father recalls that Sunday in March, 2022.

“George went to lunch with his school friends, and afterwards they wanted to play chess, but he said he was too tired.

“He made a video call to Blessings and spoke to her, then spoke to his mother and me.”

Blessing recalls her brother telling her ‘See you later’ when he ended the chat.

The family later got a phone call from the headmistress of the school, saying she needed to visit them straight away. She then delivered the horrific news that George had died, of natural causes.

He had gone to sleep and never awoke. A post-mortem shed no further light on his death.

The whole family grieved and, a year later, they moved to Carrigaline. Tambuozai is a nurse at the Mercy Hospital in Cork and George Snr, a teacher by profession, works in the construction industry.

George Snr said: “We are very proud of Blessings and her writing and poetry. She regularly has it published in her school magazine.”

He recounts a time when they visited Mytrleville beach. “Blessings wrote in the sand, ‘I love you, my brother’.”

George Snr says the family are settling in well in Cork, but adds: “It is very cold at times, compared to Africa!”

As comes through in the poem, Blessings and her family are religious, and they attend the Grace Christian Church in Cork city every Sunday.

As for Blessings, she is starting to consider her career options.

I originally wanted to be a doctor - a gynaecologist specifically - but now I am thinking of being a lawyer, as I like writing and speaking up for people,” she said.

Or maybe I will end being a writer. I will keep writing, mostly poetry, but some short stories.