The Car door opened
And we all filed out
The strangest day in my life
This without a doubt
And all my attention was
focused
On this thought that
persisted to linger
That the man surrounded by flowers
looked like a total stranger
I looked from side to side
and there was my sister and
my mother
my grandmother cousin
and father's baby brother
behind me sat my aunt
and my sisters best friend
and in more people filed
so that we could begin
and there dressed in a suit
of the sharpest gray
is where my father's body
supposedly did lay
but for as assured as my mother
did seem to be
that man did not resemble
my father to me
and so I closed my eyes
and turned my head away
I tuned in momentarily
as I heard my godmother say
that we were to all stand
and give the lord our praise
and I heard the fabrics russle
as our bodies we did raise
and then as one heart
the lords prayer we did speak
and that one moment in my life
has now become unique
for surrounded by loved ones
and ones not so dear
I envied my father
the fact that he was no longer here
my mother held my hand
my sister clutched my arm
they kept my body steady
as my mind wandered on
the obituary read
the lines of my goodbye poem spoken
the Eulogy offered up
before the Priest's last token
for all of us to come unto the lord
and in my state of wonderment I
was still floored
by the request he did make
but I guess I should be saved
before my fathers road I take
no one moved to accept the offer of
christ
and the hymn began
closing the chapters of my fathers life
and many came to hug us
and many moved to leave
and one of my oldest friends
walked right over to me
no words were really spoken
as she read the pain in my eyes
no statement was given
about our long ago goodbyes
and then there I stood
side by side with my mother
as they lay the cloth over his face
and cranked the body lower
the pieces were removed
as they lowered the lid
and in my head I heard him screaming
don't let them lock me in
and my breath became short
and for a moment I could not see
I would have given anything
to have my father leave with me
the tears streaked my face
and I turned to leave
no way could I watch the pall bearers
carry him away from me
and then I was outside
and the fresh air hit my face
and it seemed the world
was still moving
at the same pace
and I couldn't understand
why the earth hadn't stilled on its steady turn
they say that even if the teacher dies
the children still need to learn
my cousin held the car door
and we all filed in
and segment one was completed
of the day that would never end
and of course there was the burial
at the cemetery
presided over by the man
who happened to
have married
my father and mother 25 years
before
and whose mention had become
somewhat of fokelore
around my house
for he was never seen
and then once again in the car we did
file
and I admit it got a bit tiresome
after just a little while
and then we reached my house
where the procession did
end
the place that my father
would never enter again
and there was chatter
and commotion
and food and drink
and I stood on a mental ship
that I felt was about to sink
and so I closed my eyes
and my mind slipped away
and when I happened to awake
I did begin another day
my father was gone
but my heart would never mend
even though the never ending day
had finally come to an end
JayLynn
Copyright 2003 All Rights Reserved
Author notes
Written December 21st, 2003
In a list
A contest entry
- Marys 5th Contest by Praise his name.
300 points, ended September 22, 2004, 13 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
What did you think
Comments
1 - 9 of 9
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WOw..THis is amazing.... And so sad. It was put together nicely and very desriptive....very good... Good luck in the contest!
Melanie -
well-written
Having recently been through this myself I was in tears as I read your work as it brought back so much to me. I'll never forget the feeling of my heart feeling like a stone, the physical weight of it dragging me down, now I know why some people need to be 'held up' - the grief and heartache is too much to bear. I empathise with you and I truly feel that time takes the sharp edges off our pain but it never heals.
The lines about teacher and children are so profound and our learning process is something that continues until our turn comes around.
~Von~
-
This is so sad and im sorry for your loss thanks for entering good luck
God bless
mary -
Beautiful.
"and it seemed the world
was still moving
at the same pace
and I couldn't understand
why the earth hadn't stilled on its steady turn
they say that even if the teacher dies
the children still need to learn"
I like this point. It is hard to see how the world can keep on going when a loved on dies, or when we are going through too much pain to express. It isn't right for the world to go on without the ones we love, but it does. Keep Writing. -
wow....that was wonderfully written...just enought to make me sad but not enough to make me cry, but almost.(it takes alot to make me cry) it was long but it was worth it ever so much so...
keep up the beautiful work
{~Shadow~} -
This was very beautiful and very sad. It moved me deeply. It made me think of when my great grandmother died. I didn't even cry, and now I wonder if I should regret that. Death is hard, but facing it is harder. There were great feelings in this poem. Thank you for sharing this part of you.
~~shattered -
OMG...this is /soooo/ powerful...sooo descriptive...you told the whole story so well...and kept my attention at the same time!! hehe...this was incredibly sad as well...I feel lucky but sometimes not so much...that I have never experienced something as this...I have never been to a funeral...never seen a loved one buried...I don't know if I could really handle it...but I'm sure to find out someday...however much I don't want to...lovely job hun...best wishes to ya and good luck in the contest (this looks like a weiner to me!)
Much Love
~~T~~
Edited on Dec 21, 1:32 p.m. because 'fred wears slacks'. -
This is sad...I found this poem very moving. The feeling comes through to anyone who has been parted from a loved one. If this has occurred remember your father is with you "spirtually" if not physically. The flow of this is wonderful. Thank you very much for entering my contest.
-
This was very good, very powerful....it spoke volumes to me. i'm very sorry about your father's passing, if that is what happened....if this isn't a work of fiction, but either way it's very convincing and as i said before, powerful.
keep writing and good luck with the contest!
-midget-
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