April 16, 2014
Prompt: Write an elegy - a poem for the dead
An Elegy for My Mother
When you left me I crumpled
and days followed without any
reason while I forgot the mail
and remembered only the sorrow
hanging in my heart like a new
accessory
I grieved for you and your presence
and found times during each day to
share a moment with you, but
of course you were not there to
chat on the phone and listen to
my complaints
Not there to see your grandchildren
grow to the women they are now
Not there to exclaim with joy
when my novel turned from
dream to reality
Not here for me now to
put my arms around you
and snuggle deep into
your embrace
Not here to hold me
and tell me it’s all okay
when the world closes in
When all I want
is my mommy
and days followed without any
reason while I forgot the mail
and remembered only the sorrow
hanging in my heart like a new
accessory
I grieved for you and your presence
and found times during each day to
share a moment with you, but
of course you were not there to
chat on the phone and listen to
my complaints
Not there to see your grandchildren
grow to the women they are now
Not there to exclaim with joy
when my novel turned from
dream to reality
Not here for me now to
put my arms around you
and snuggle deep into
your embrace
Not here to hold me
and tell me it’s all okay
when the world closes in
When all I want
is my mommy
copyright 2014 by Barbara Ehrentreu
I wrote one elegy, by I decided to write another in a different vein.
Elegy for My Mother 2
You were beautiful
but you never thought so
thinking beauty meant thin
and you were never that
I remember you agonizing
over your clothes and
me squeezing you into
yet another too small dress
you needed to tailor for you
were excellent with needle
and thread, creating and
making my clothes until
embarrassment sent me
to buy them in a real store
A working woman before
it became the norm you
always made us dinner
I learned to cook watching
you throw this and that
together each night
Not always perfect you
used your voice as a
weapon and many times
it attacked me and left
me broken
But you would swoop me
in your arms and all would
be okay until the day when
your voice became a whisper
and I leaned down to hear
you say my favorite words
“I love you” from your
disease ridden body and then
you closed your eyes forever
but you never thought so
thinking beauty meant thin
and you were never that
I remember you agonizing
over your clothes and
me squeezing you into
yet another too small dress
you needed to tailor for you
were excellent with needle
and thread, creating and
making my clothes until
embarrassment sent me
to buy them in a real store
A working woman before
it became the norm you
always made us dinner
I learned to cook watching
you throw this and that
together each night
Not always perfect you
used your voice as a
weapon and many times
it attacked me and left
me broken
But you would swoop me
in your arms and all would
be okay until the day when
your voice became a whisper
and I leaned down to hear
you say my favorite words
“I love you” from your
disease ridden body and then
you closed your eyes forever
copyright 2014 by Barbara Ehrentreu
Until the next time, hope you are enjoying these poems and again thanks to the people who are tweeting the blog link.:) You are the best!!!
A friend of mine posted this and I thought you might enjoy it:
No comments:
Post a Comment