My Mother’s Last Farewell

The time has come for me to go, to put my toys away;
It’s been a very pleasant time, but now’s that time of day,
When we must tidy up our things and lineup by the door,
I took a look a moment back, she’s right – it’s almost four.

I’ve waited – for an hour now, I thought it would not pass;
The longest hour in my life, but here’s the bell at last;
It’s been a slice my family, friends please don’t weep for me,
I’m off to Beulah land, and there I know some friends I’ll see.

But most of all it’s Jesus and his good disciples there;
Those are the folks I value most – to what could I compare,
The place they held within my heart throughout these many years?
Had He not come into my life, I’d still be fraught with tears.

I know the bell still hasn’t rung – the one at four o’clock;
I have my lunch pail and my shoes, I’m ready for the walk
From school to home, (some chores to do before we all sit down
Around the table spread for us, laid out for us by mom).

I love that time when school is done, before we dine again;
I love to play as I go home, earth’s beauty dulls my pain;
I love to walk with friends and chat about our childish stuff;
I love to feel that warming breeze which ruffles lacy ruff.

I love the scent of fresh mown grass; the look of dandelions;
I love the wondrous love of God I hear in whispered pines;
I love the lapping on the shore those summer, tiny waves;
I love the foam that gathers there we called ‘Foam Bubble Bay’.

I know you tried your best, dear friends, to ease my journey’s end;
I know you’ve come to reconcile with me, and end as friends;
I did my best – through troubled days, I rose and found my place;
I feel at last I am okay – a part of human race.

I’ve long let go of ties to here, I’m ready to move on;
I hope you also find that peace as I move on beyond;
Press on, my kin, do out your time, acquit yourselves quite well;
This life has quite a blessing been, though spells were more like hell.

But that’s behind, it matters not, I’m heading out to sea,
Just like those poets wrote before, whose cadence spoke to me;
“No moaning at the bar”, they said – Ulysses, Shakespeare, Keats –
Those words sum up my heart these days, I’ll soon in heaven greet –

Those friends I’ve lost a while ago, and of those I’ve never met;
I’ve no idea what it’s like – on this I’ll place my bet:
That life up there is just like here (not in its fine detail),
But great – beyond imagining – with laughter we’ll regale –

Ourselves with memories, stories, mirth, about years long ago;
We’ll reminisce about the past before we onwards go –
Like campfire-time when we were kids, when evening prayers were done,
The sun had set, the twilight dimmed, we sang, and joked, in fun.

Goodbye my friends and family, we’ll meet again someday;
Press on, just like I said before, acquit yourselves, and say:
“Before me lie the seas of life, like old Ulysses said,
‘I've miles to go, and things to do, before I’m also dead’.”

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