A Poem for Grandma Loretta

(Loretta was a late-in-life poetess. She self-published a book of mostly autobiographical poems in the 1990s called My Gifts of Love to You. I thought it only right to honor her, and work through my grief, in a LMSKG-style poem: rhyming couplets with awkward meter and religious overtones. Her poems always make me smile. This is a valentine for her, me, and everyone who joins me in grief.)

In the end, I'd been grieving this loss for years.

At your funeral, I shed only a few tears.

I was mainly just trying to get through the day,

though there were obstacles in my way.

First the van wouldn't start,

but I took heart:

Kevin came along with his truck.

We were no longer stuck.

We sped along through the ice and snow,

And we got to the church with only seconds to go.

I didn't have time to change into my shoes,

But no one seemed to notice--we all had the blues.

I read the scripture readings that you chose
Without worrying too much about my clothes.
The rest of the service went by so fast.
I was only a little sad that I didn't get to see your body at last.

The food was delicious, I know you'd want to hear.
Even my dad's side of the family came, which brought me some cheer.
Auntie Jena did a great job babysitting
(Though I bet Sam's antics made her feel like quitting.)

Then off to the cemetery we did travel
Snow crunched under our feet instead of gravel
Uncle Tony read some of your beautiful words
He got a little choked up but we all still heard
Of your love for the Lord and your courage in death.
I know you loved Jesus to your very last breath.

The drive home was long, since we (oops) missed a turn,
But we had plenty of daylight and gas to burn.
Jumping the van caused the radio to break--
So we had to talk the whole way to keep each other awake.
We managed to get home before the big storm
To our little townhouse all nice and warm.

My memories of you are happy and filled with joy.
I am so proud you got to meet and love my baby boy.
I will certainly miss your amazing hugs--
All soft and tender and warm and snug.
You gave so much to all who knew you:
Your family, friends, and "adopted" family members, too.

We are thankful that your body is no longer in pain.
We know that the diabetes and back problems and heart problems were all quite a drain.
We trust that even though you are away,
We will be reunited in heaven some day.

(Special note: Loretta's last big gift to the world was to start a pay-it-forward for Lent campaign supporting Eagle's Healing Nest, a farm/wilderness retreat for veterans returning home with emotional wounds to be healed. Please check out the campaign's Facebook community page and click on "about" for more information. I will write more about this as Lent continues.)