My Mum

You may see a lot of similarities between this poem and 'Dear God'. Having already written down a lot about my mum's life in the lead up to her death, it seemed appropriate to use much of that as my tribute to her at her funeral.

My mum had a long life Sixty-one years as a wife Although times could be hard God had always been her guard

Born in nineteen-thirty-two In Princes Risborough she grew Off she went to Wycombe High And, much later, so did I

To be a teacher was her dream However, it did not seem That this was God’s will So that role she didn’t fulfil

Instead she went to cook for boys at Eton But soon found she was no Mrs Beeton Then she changed her job, her trade And became a house parlourmaid

Caring for the young elite Must have been quite a feat She also worked as an au pair With two young children in her care

Back in Risborough lived Fred And in due course they wed Shortly after they did go Off to live in Great Marlow

Soon came their first child, Joy And not long after, a boy But before the age of seven Joy joined our God in heaven

Thus Mark was left alone An only child in their home But when he reached age ten Guess what happened then?

He again became a brother As mum did have another… Daughter, which was me! When she was over forty

Mum enjoyed being a mum Family life for her was fun Caring for her children She was like a mother hen

Her faith was absolutely vital She learnt scripture, recital Believed in the power of prayer Even if life didn’t seem fair

Mum delighted to sing Pleasure to her it did bring She sang alto, but no higher In the church gospel choir

Faithfully she did attend Almost to the very end Services, a coffee or prayer meeting And folks she was always greeting

On her three grandchildren she doted All of their achievements she noted As she watched and waited to see What they would grow up to be

Mum always went steady and slow As we waited for her to get ready to go And we had a family saying, quite canny Could anyone be as old as nanny?

Then in March twenty-nineteen I was extremely keen That we should help celebrate Mum and dad’s diamond wedding date

Friends and relatives from far and wide Came to party where mum did reside And mum couldn’t more excited have been To receive their card from the Queen!

It seems that life goes by so fast I could recount more of her past Trips, events and holidays Friends, family and birthdays

Sad, for us, the time has come To say goodbye to my mum But now she has found true release From troubles, with God she’s at peace