They marched beside the coffinCarrying it steady toward the doorI didn't cry or whimperAs I followed right behindBut deep within I screamedDon't leave O Mother of minePlease don't go to the grave;Let's chat just one more timeLet's talk about the 'good old days'Don't leave, O Mother of mine"But onward moved the casketDown the stairs to the limousine;With Mother laying incognizantOf my agonizing screamAs we rode toward the ossuaryThoughts were swimming in my head;Why didn't the whole world stop?Didn't it know my Mother was dead?But the world kept 'bout its businessAnd within I felt so sad,'Cause my Mother didn't get the honorI thought she should have hadAs we drove into the cemeteryI knew it wouldn't be long,Before I had to sing at lastMy final farewell songI stood at the gravesiteGrief festering in my breast:Scriptures read, prayers prayed,Mother committed to eternal restLooking out the car's rear windowAs we mutely drove away;I saw a heavenly angel flyTo where my Mother layThen I knew that all was well,That Mother was just fineThat I would live and grow and serveUntil, alas, my timeThank you Lord for reassuring meThat the grave is not the endThat Mother is patiently waiting for meJust around life's toilsome bendBut now there's work I must performThat no one else can do;Some hurting, aching souls to soothe,Broken dreams to help renewAnd in the process of reaching outTo brighten someone's day;I sense way deep within myself,That I too will be okay
Saundra L Washington is the author of two coffee table books: "Negative Disturbances, Homilies that Teach," and the book from which this poem is taken, "Room Beneath the Snow, Poems that Preach" Looking out the Rear Window was written shortly following her mother's death She can be contacted at: http://wwwclergyservices4uorg
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