Bessie M Good 1890-1913

Bessie M. Good 1890-1913 By the time I was 21 years along, I had given birth to two girls, Nadine and Ruth, my precious babies. Both had eyes of tea green, With perfect fragrant cheeks, Softly redolent of sweet-smelling spice- That special baby smell- Heaven’s spice, And both were loved completely, By a strong soulful love, Immensely deep and earth-real; Only women who have dutifully dropped Their blessed ten pound bundle, Upon this love-lonely, cursed world, Can attest to this compelling love, This gripping, primordial bonding, This indescribable link to the hand of God! And so, it is to God I ask this question- Why? Why did you take Nadine from me? My sweet baby! Why? I cried shrieking in hysterical circles; My husband Henry sat motionless And staring downward, inert. For many days and weeks we mourned, Never really getting over it; How does one recover from the death of a child? How? Then God answered our prayers with sweet Ruth! Adorable, innocent beautiful Ruth! For two wonderful years we were together, Then, unexpectedly, Death took my sweet Ruth… Why God? Why did you take Ruth from me? My sweet baby! Why? I cried shrieking in hysterical circles! Here in my dusty forgotten grave, At shady Mt Olive Cemetery, The deep pain of such heartbreaking episodes, Which killed me slowly by age 23, Has long ebbed away from me. And now, no one remembers or cares, about What happened to me and my girls, Many shaded years ago. And finally my epitaph: Life has always had its tragedies, At least that’s what all my teachers said. My advice? Get right with God.