Friday, December 24, 2010

Wed.Challenge Poetic Asides "something you're dreading"

Remembering Bill

Everyone has been incredibly kind
Beyond my wildest imaginings really
The Salvation Army, bless them
Have donated The Warrior’s Song Cafe

Just the name of the place tugs
At my heart-strings; I know he would
Approve of this choice for his memorial
And as if this weren’t enough

The pastor is doing the service, gratis
Another pastor, the one who runs the cafe
But who is on holiday that day tells me
She will just “throw a turkey in the oven”

The night before, so we will have meat
For sandwiches for after the service
And we are welcome to the cookies
Pies and other sweets we will find there

And of course, the tea and coffee is ours
For the taking – oh – of course –
Who is this munificent? I find their generosity
Just a about undoes me but am so grateful

Especially as the woman pastor tells me
How to be kind to myself, how I am doing
This last thing for my brother and what a fine
Thing it is for me to be doing; she seems to sense

How much reassurance I need about this
How unsure I am, how afraid that I will do
The wrong thing, betray him in death the way
I did in life; she seems able to comfort me

Without really knowing the whole story
And I am coming to realize that perhaps
The story is not as important as I thought
Perhaps it’s more about laying to rest

This man, my brother, that died last week
And honouring the man he became
For the friends he made and the life he led
Maybe these are the things I need to remember


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