I MOURNED YOU EARLY

I MOURNED YOU EARLY

It was a gradual parting of the ways
To the woman I loved best of all.

A slow, methodical decline, I saw the writing on the wall.

I mourned you on my birthday in the year 2001
When Judy Collins sang My Father
And I thought of you, my mother
And our seasons in the sun.

I mourned you oft on Friday nights,
The night of our weekly pizza feast,
When the truck bearing your oxygen
Sat parked along the street.

After your trip to the doctor
And your latest breathing tests,
The concentrator in the foyer
Became our uninvited guest.

I mourned you in my bed at night,
Listening to the motor of that lifeline grim,

Archiving my memories sweet,
And cleaving steadfast unto them.

I mourned you at your brother’s funeral,
Portable oxygen at your side,

Still your effervescent self,
Your wheelchair on its maiden ride.

I mourned you at the Wolf Trap show,
As Will the Circle Be Unbroken pierced
the summer evening air.

Its story of a mother’s passing
Streaked my face with silent tears.

I mourned you at each intervention,
Each hospital and nursing home,
‘Til at last I stood in your hospice room, your last breath spent and your spirit flown.

I mourned you early, loud and long.
I mourn you still, the memories strong.

And late at night I lie awake
And hear your spirit sweetly call.

The priceless one who gave me life,
The woman I love most of all.

-BRUCE POTTS
COPYRIGHT 2008
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED