AT HOME

lost on the tides, it seems forever

lost when the twilight turns to stars

lost with the hymns we used to sing there

my grandparents reciting

Crossing the Bar.

there by the lamplight reading us stories

sharing the glories of musical scores

sharpening pencils, shining our shoes

telling us always to do well in school

soothing our troubles with lullabies then...

the mists close in.

I know it's the same from age to age

and written on every family's page

till then there was one like a mystery story

when all whom you knew

have gone to Glory.

the years have scuttled, October's leaves

no matter how modern the future seems

for one glimpse of home you would pack it all in

for how it was

then.

but Be Not Dismayed I hear once again

the pines near our house sing in sweet accustomed winds

and I know that I'll be there with all the bells on

it won't be that long.

the last miles are best

when there's so much to win.

seek Heaven. they're all at home there.

mary angela douglas 16 may 2023