A Widow's Return

A Widow’s Return--a tribute to my Grandma Reeder

For years she peered from her side kitchen window, 
An empty house, an empty table, a lonely heart. 
The occasional visit brightened her day 
But was often overshadowed by hours 
Of vain anticipation, anxiously awaiting the simplest of events.

Now, expectation is satisfied.
Her table is surrounded–never to be empty again.
Gone are lonely dinners, empty mailboxes, and silent phones.
Hungry arms now greet her as eternal embraces grab hold,
Never to be loosed again.
Hands, once wrinkled and calloused, reunite with youthful vigor.
Clasped forever, all voids are filled.

For months she stewed and worried
About passing through the veil,
Her vision and memories clouded by earthly limitation,
Her heart trapped between this life and the next.

But now, she is free.
Perfect faith overrides the doubt that once confused.
Understanding tempers fear as she soars high above
The concerns which once held her bound.
While friends and family gather,
Vivid memories replace faded photographs in her mind.
The blur of life is slowed, focused.
Quiet recollections euphorically contemplate the years.
All is clear again.

For days she suffered as her body failed.
Loving visits met silence, strength dissipated,
And the load grew too heavy to bear.
Clinging to what pride and dignity remained,
She endured it well.

Now, patience is unnecessary.
The wait is over on both sides of the veil.
Hearts reach out as joy assuages pain.
Laughter replaces loneliness, unvanquished truth
Fills the gaps of the mind.
A life of work is rewarded and labor rests.
With shouts of acclamation, a lovely daughter returns Home.
No longer a widow. Never again, alone.

Christine Cluff Thompson
September 26, 2009