BOY CHILD*
I’d be crawling on all fours to get to you
I didn’t realize his loudest cry for help was silence
Boy child quiet
Boy did not bother anyone
Boy child slow
Boy child withdrawal peaked at fourteen
Boy child scared to talk on phone
Boy child wanted to be a neuroscientist
Boy child isolated
Boy child attended college
Boy child never hurt anyone
Boy child communicated by email
Boy child visits home slowed down
Boy child disappeared
Boy child bought guns
Boy child stockpiled body armor
Boy child mass murdered
Boy child, my own son
Boy child what could I have done differently
*La Ganga, Maria L., “James Holmes through mother’s tearful eyes,” Los Angeles Times, July 30, 2015.
“Writing poetry allows my reservoir of memories and observations to flow freely and bring comfort and joy. I reflect, illuminate and connect with others using words to create a sense of place. I am in love with words that anchor, touch and nourish my spirit and soul,” says Gerda Govine Ituarte, Ed.D., poet, art curator, columnist and CEO of G. Govine Consulting. She was born in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, and emigrated to NYC in the mid 50’s and California in the early 80’s. She lives with her artist husband Luis Ituarte in Pasadena and Tijuana, B.C., Mexico. Dr. Govine Ituarte writes, “As We Speak,” a column for the Pasadena San Gabriel Valley Journal and is a guest writer for The Pasadena Weekly newspaper. She was appointed to the LA County Commission for Women in 2012 by the Board of Supervisors. Dr. Govine is a board member of the Pasadena Youth Center. She is CEO of G. Govine Consulting.
Gerda Govine Ituarte’s poetry collection includes Future Awakes in Mouth of NOW [Editions du Cygne (Swan World, 2016); Alterations|Thread Light Through Eye of Storm (La Casa del Tunel Productions, 2015) and Oh, Where is My Candle Hat? (Asterisco Editoria de Poesia, Tijuana, 2012). Book four is a work in progress. Summer 2016 she created a four-week lunchtime poetry reading series “Poetry Within Reach in Unexpected Places,” and established the Pasadena Rose Poets comprised of nine seasoned Pasadena-connected poets. Govine Ituarte introduced weekly poetry reading at the City of Pasadena Council Meetings in February 2017, which continues. The Mayor of Pasadena provided two Proclamations, Celebrating April National Poetry Month, in 2017 and 2018, to the Pasadena Rose Poets. Her poetry has appeared in the Journal of Modern Poetry, Altadena Poetry Review, Dryland, Hometown Pasadena, and Coiled Serpent. She has read at the PasadenaMuseum of California Art and The Last Bookstore.
