| |
She was propped up in a chair
when I arrived for my first visit.
'I'm glad you didn't bring the kids.
I don't want to frighten them.'
She beamed all over her cadaver face
Her clothes looked ridiculously big
Her head was hidden
in an orange scarf
'Ben's been so kind, '
Her husband had philandered for years.
Left her the year before
but came back
when she got sick.
'Life is such a gift' she said
Her smile filled the room.
'That music you play at school? '
We met at the Co-op
a parent-run school, wonderful place.
Enid did science experiments
and they always worked!
Music for Zen Meditation?
I'll tape it for you.
I brought it next visit
and a red and green poinsettia -
It was nearly Christmas.
She was delighted
'My favourite flower'
'Could you give me a massage? '
I remembered childbirth.
Her back was parchment thin
skin over bone.
I was scared I'd hurt her
so I focused on the music
and let my fingers
play her spine.
Next visit she handed me a Christmas card
She'd painted the poinsettia
in watercolour.
'Could you do me a favour?
Speak at the funeral? '
I freaked out
Of course.
'I don't want anything religious.
You'll know what to say -
Tell them life is a gift.'
She died at home
with no drugs
and no drip
peacefully of dehydration
in a house full of people.
It was the day before Christmas.
I wrote her obituary,
learned it by heart
and delivered it with hammering heart
to a full house.
I still have her card
with the red and green poinsettias.
Alison Cassidy
|
|
User Rating: |
|
8.7
/10
(13 votes) |
|
|
|
Free
Poetry E-Book:
E-mail this poem to e friend