A Christmas Funeral

I had to cry on the inside,
As aunty laid spread on the Kitchen floor weeping.
She somewhat gathered herself and stood sobbing,
“They shot him” were words that escaped her lips
And she repeated these words like a lullaby
Calming herself to Tranquil like state   
But she still wore disbelieve on her face, we all did.
For she had lost her husband and I had lost my uncle  

I had to forget 
For a little while I pretend he was alive and well,
I could at least find some kind of solace in being oblivious.
Self-inflicted amnesia was like a drug, with each dose my mind grew tolerant 
Until my mind finally withdrew from Pretend  
And reality came like waves swoosh all I had built 
All these boundaries intended to protect and shield 
Against the brutal realisation that I lost you for Christmas.

His Mother shed no tears 
Grand ’ma wore black, a strong face and Stared at walls.
She often did this in times of loss, but this time things were different 
One could see through her silence, her eyes heavy  
As the eyes always told when carrying a heart’s weight, 
What could she do? , as being strong was almost entirely her nature.
I always hated and admired this about her, 
Her ability swallow her pain and shoulder the world on her back.


 
It was a dull Christmas 
I woke to the scent of paraffin and fire wood 
And women cooking outside sang sad songs 
Followed by baritone voices conversing in the background.
Christmas jingles were replaced church hymns  
And the gift of family remained present.
His absence was deeply missed, as it saddened our hearts
For in this Christmas funeral , we came together.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2016


Post Comments

Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.

Please Login to post a comment

Date: 8/13/2016 2:07:00 AM
oh my, a Xmas funeral. Truly heartbreaking this is, Ronny and well written.
Login to Reply
Date: 8/13/2016 1:21:00 AM
Extremely sad but well captured piece of your personal life. Keep on writing my friend. Mark
Login to Reply
Date: 8/11/2016 6:20:00 PM
Such a heartbreakingly sad poem Ronny you describe grief and sadness so well:-( hugs Jan xx
Login to Reply
Date: 8/11/2016 6:24:00 AM
Very descriptive, incredibly moving, a fine write. Well done, Ronny. Regards, Viv
Login to Reply
Date: 8/5/2016 4:58:00 AM
This is sad and well written. Where do you live my friend?
Login to Reply
Get a Premium Membership
Get more exposure for your poetry and more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Reflection on the Important Things

Member Area

My Admin
Profile and Settings
Edit My Poems
Edit My Quotes
Edit My Short Stories
Edit My Articles
My Comments Inboxes
My Comments Outboxes
Soup Mail
Poetry Contests
Contest Results/Status
Followers
Poems of Poets I Follow
Friend Builder

Soup Social

Poetry Forum
New/Upcoming Features
The Wall
Soup Facebook Page
Who is Online
Link to Us

Member Poems

Poems - Top 100 New
Poems - Top 100 All-Time
Poems - Best
Poems - by Topic
Poems - New (All)
Poems - New (PM)
Poems - New by Poet
Poems - Read
Poems - Unread

Member Poets

Poets - Best New
Poets - New
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems Recent
Poets - Top 100 Community
Poets - Top 100 Contest

Famous Poems

Famous Poems - African American
Famous Poems - Best
Famous Poems - Classical
Famous Poems - English
Famous Poems - Haiku
Famous Poems - Love
Famous Poems - Short
Famous Poems - Top 100

Famous Poets

Famous Poets - Living
Famous Poets - Most Popular
Famous Poets - Top 100
Famous Poets - Best
Famous Poets - Women
Famous Poets - African American
Famous Poets - Beat
Famous Poets - Cinquain
Famous Poets - Classical
Famous Poets - English
Famous Poets - Haiku
Famous Poets - Hindi
Famous Poets - Jewish
Famous Poets - Love
Famous Poets - Metaphysical
Famous Poets - Modern
Famous Poets - Punjabi
Famous Poets - Romantic
Famous Poets - Spanish
Famous Poets - Suicidal
Famous Poets - Urdu
Famous Poets - War

Poetry Resources

Anagrams
Bible
Book Store
Character Counter
Cliché Finder
Poetry Clichés
Common Words
Copyright Information
Grammar
Grammar Checker
Homonym
Homophones
How to Write a Poem
Lyrics
Love Poem Generator
New Poetic Forms
Plagiarism Checker
Poetry Art
Publishing
Random Word Generator
Spell Checker
What is Good Poetry?
Word Counter