This was the view from the car on
the way home from visiting Richard tonight,
It was comforting through my tears.
Richard's thoughts as he watched Mom looking at a Sunset
The sun
slowly sinks
Beyond the
sea
Parting with
the day
In radiant
display
She’s done
her job well:
Given light,
Held us all
snug within
Her arms,
kept us warm
And spared
us endless night
Within the
sojourn
Of her day
She chased
away
The darkest
shadows
Of our grievings
And our
fears
And
brightened
Children’s
faces
In their
laughter
And their
play
How like us
to notice most
When she’s
about to go
But then, at
her summit
All were busily
engaged:
She the
energy
Of our lives
We
converting it
To work and
play
She’d have
it no other way
How ripe she
now stands
Full of
maturity and age
Poised on
the horizon
Set to
launch to other lands
Benediction
of those beyond
Beatitude
for waiting hands
Darkness for
us then
But we’ll
make it through
Sustained by
resilience
Of her love
and the truth
That she’s
eclipsed only
For a while
from view
But for this
time
For now
Let us
rejoice
In the
fullness of her being:
Golden crown
above the sea
Abiding
Mother of mankind
How full of
wonder
And woe
Her odyssey
How dazzling
In poignancy
And awe
Her
departing
Curtsy
by Richard Anderson
On Tuesday, I got the call that Richard had fallen and was being taken to the hospital. It turns out it was more than a fall. Once at the hospital, the doctors quickly confirmed to Cheryl and Charlene
that he had had a stroke and brain bleed. They told us he would not be able to recover.
It has been so sad and heart wrenching. I went up on Wednesday and spent the morning at the hospital. They determined they could send him back to his place at Legacy and could have hospice care come there. Charlene and his daughters, Cheryl and Jan, have been so good to him in all these transitions.
I went up this morning after the Bishops left (more about their visit and Thanksgiving later). He has not been conscious since the stroke, but it was comforting to see him in his room, surrounded by the things he loves -- His Monet prints on the wall, the desk dad built, many pictures of his family. He looks so much like Gary and Dad that it is haunting. It is so comforting to know that they and Mom will be there to greet him.
I take comfort in Richard's words, even if I am having a difficult time processing that this is really happening.
"How ripe she he now stands
Full of maturity and age
Poised on the horizon
Set to launch to other lands
Benediction of those beyond
Beatitude for waiting hands"
1 comment:
Someday I hope you can re-read this and see that you too are a talented writer. He will be so missed. I'm so glad he can be now be where he can think, write and speak the way he loves too again!
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