White Feather: A Collection of Poetry

By Clare Hegarty

After a surprising diagnosis of cancer and a quick decline leading to the death of her mother, Clare M. Hegarty channeled her pain and grief into writing. White Feather is a collection of poetry documenting the stages of grief in the hope of reaching out to others facing the death of a loved one.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Sep 2, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524662707

Clare Hegarty

Clare Mary Hegarty was born in Derry City on New Year’s Eve of 1986. Her dramatic entrance to the world should have been a warning of things to come! Growing up as the third of four children, Clare was a performer, singer, and a dreamer. Always reading and writing stories on her typewriter, she became involved with the local drama society and participated in many productions. At the age of nine, Clare won her first literary accolade, coming runner-up in the city’s competition—The Spooker Prize. Throughout her teens, whilst excelling academically, Clare often wrote freelance pieces for local publications, and upon graduating with an honors degree in speech and language therapy from Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, Clare moved to Asia, where she continued to pursue her passion for the arts. As a classically trained singer with the McCafferty School of Music, Clare performed regularly in the music scene in Singapore. She began writing an internet blog about her adventures living abroad, which was featured in the local press and at home in Derry Journal. Clare has lent her voice to adverts and audiobooks for children. Currently working in Liverpool as a speech and language therapist, Clare used her dying mother’s advice to pursue her passion for writing as a way of channeling her grief. The result? Her first book—White Feather.

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© 2016 Clare M Hegarty. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 08/29/2016

ISBN: 978-1-5246-6271-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-6270-7 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

*   The Raven

*   Old Man

*   Death.

*   Watery Grave

*   Passport

*   Blanket

*   Butterflies

*   Teeny Tiny Little Pill

*   The Ghost

*   Chemicals Imbalanced

*   White Feather

*   Summertime Sadness

*   The Oyster and The Pearl

*   Firefly

*   Wild Purple Mountain Flowers

*   Ode to Whoever

*   The Circus

*   And so it is…

*   Thinking Out Loud

*   Untitled Message

Afterword

In memory of my beloved mother Deirdre Margaret Hegarty

– Beautiful; both inside and out.

My inspiration, my heroine.

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PREFACE

Diagnosed with cancer on 03rd June 2015, she bravely and humbly accepted that it was her time to leave us here on earth and watch over us from afar. She did not cry a single tear and remained dignified and ladylike until she slipped into an eternal sleep, just seven weeks later on 22nd July 2015, with her husband and us, her children, by her bedside. She died just as she lived; peacefully, surrounded by love. We miss her dearly every single day. For us, the grief is only just beginning.