On Viewing The Corpse of My Mother-in-law

My wife's family had gathered around their mother's hospital deathbed, grieving together as they shared their sadness and their love. '

How could this--thing, have been her?

Lying shriveled and small on the bed

as those who loved (and feared) her

gathered in the  bereft hospital room

to let their shock and grief melt and

mold itself into its own atmosphere.

Her body seemed never to have been

real, never to have been a woman,

never to have been young once, and

surely never to have been a mother....

And if it had been a body once, housing

a small dragon who could lash out fire

solely with her harsh and brutal tongue,

keeping those who loved her at bay and

the rest of us wary, aware of her power,

her terrible gift for shrinking one's soul,

then where did she go when her mouth

froze open as the last breath of a long

life left quietly, without fuss or rancor?

Still, though imperfect as you or I, she

was loved, and mourned and honored.

If God only housed saints, think how

terribly lonely He would be....

Author's Note

If this poem seems harsh, it is not meant to be-- I fear my own faults will be remembered more than whatever little good I have done in this world. I was simply astounded at how death could overcome even her fierce will.

Reviews

[Chris Shaw]

The only thing in life we can be certain of is death. It doesn't matter who we have been, what we have achieved, we will all exit the same way. Dying unfortunately isn't merciful most of the time. It takes time to die and our bodies end up a shell of our original selves. That is hard on the relatives to witness. It is harder still for the dying who may be aware of what is happening to them. Your mother-in-law may have been imperfect, but then we all have imperfections. What comes across in your lines is that she was loved, mourned and honoured, and that ranks highly in my books. Yes, death doesn't allow anyone to escape its clutches. It's just a matter of timing. Nice work.

Chris

[Nolo Segundo]

Thank you Chris-- the thing that's always struck me about the dead bodies I've seen of people I've known is that they seem like wax models, never having been or could be real. Dead animals on the other hand just look like they're sleeping.I've always found this curious.

[VALORMORE DE PLUME]

We feel your words and your heart in this write. The subject of death and separation brings great pain and sorrow. Our love is severed and we bleed pure unfettered emotion. In some traditions, a celebration of that one's life and them passing into the reward of heaven, lifts our misery of loss. For our expectation is that we too shall pass through the veil to reunite with them in glorious new incorruptible bodies.

[Nolo Segundo]

That is my fervent hope and my deepest faith....

[NotUsinganymore]

Very nice. Death has been around me so much it doesn't really affect me at all. Recently my pet cat died but I didn't feel anything. I just had her creamted and I went on with my life like it never happend and she was neved in my life.

[angel]

It doesn't seem harsh at all; it is, however brutally honest, and I appreciate that.I read this because it is a shared experience. I also saw my mother in law's corpse, and it was a weird experience.
The thing that went through my mind, I remember, was 'you can't hurt anyone, now.'

[Nolo Segundo]

Well, like all of us,my mother-in-law had her good side too--she was very protective of her family.

[Fran Marie]

Odd how we notice others faults.and often times we
overlook our own..time waits for none..we grow old
and pass on..death on review lets us see and reflect
on our own demise ..we can't blame a person for their
flaws as we all have them..even though death dissolves
all that once was

beautifully expressed piece here..

[Nolo Segundo]

As Jesus said, our nature is such that we easily see the fault in another's eye, but ignore that in our own. This poem was in part a tribute to her force of will, which like all of us, could work for the positve or the negative.

[Ghost]

Yes when death happens people find all things to remember from good, bad, anything and everything... And when we see a loved one who has passed we realize that they do not look like someone we once knew as death takes a toll on them as well...

[Nolo Segundo]

Forgive me Ghost for not expressing my appreciation earlier-- I had some heath issues to sort out.