Woman Writes Love Poems Every Sunday to Her Husband Who Died

A woman in Edmonton, Alberta, writes a love poem to her husband every Sunday. The act is, of course, wonderful in-and-of-itself. However, it’s even more touching considering that he died four years ago.

Credit: ca.news.yahoo.com

Adèle Fontaine’s husband Normand died November 24, 2014, following complications of a stroke that occurred during open-heart surgery. The two were married for 53 years and had seven children.

“I started writing [poems] 40 days and 40 nights after his death, … and it was like a call. And I think that I tapped into the universal sense of love and of loss,” Adèle said in an interview with CBC Radio’s “Edmonton AM.”

Adèle eventually shared some of the deeply personal and emotional love poems with friends and family. The poems have now been published in a collection called “My Sundays with Normand.”

“As soon as a small tear came into my eyes, I knew I was on the right path,” she said. “And I thought I was standing in the sacred at that moment. And I think that the tear has always guided me.”

Artist and Family Man

Normand was an accomplished radio broadcaster and announcer with the CBC for 37 years. He retired in 1995, and from there devoted himself to the arts, including painting and writing poetry and short stories.

Credit: ca.news.yahoo.com

“[Normand] was an absolutely delightful man who was an artist and a writer and a radio man,” she said. He was also a loving father, and according to Adèle, had a very close relationship with each of their seven children.

She and her children spent a lot of time with Normand in the intensive care unit after the unsuccessful heart surgery. They brought his art and music into intensive care, and “stayed and danced with him and sang to him.” Though he couldn’t speak anymore, Normand would act like a maestro when he heard a song he liked and keep in time with the music.

Adèle mentions that both Normand’s work on the radio and his art inspires a lot of her love poems. Much of his art adorns the walls of her home. “It’s like an art gallery,” she said.

Love Poems as Grief

It’s clear that Adèle and Normand had a very close and loving relationship when you listen to the “Edmonton AM” interview.

Adèle at one point reads one of her poems, and by the end, you can hear that she chokes up a bit as she finishes reading. Her poetry has helped to ease the pain of her loss and has touched those around her. Her friends and family were the ones who initially suggested she publish her poetry in a book.

“My poetry began to make sense to a lot of people,” she said. “My children really responded to it with a lot of love and kindness.”

Everyone deals with the death of a loved one in different ways. Adèle Fontaine found that poetry and expressing her grief through the written word worked wonders for her. Hopefully, her book of love poems can inspire others to try out the art form themselves following the death of a loved one.

You can listen to the original interview on CBC Radio’s Edmonton AM below.