I Didn'T Cry For Mom

I wish I could have cried The day my Mother died But the relief that she was now at rest Was such a release to my tight chest Scorned I was by family members Who were able to cry while I sat and remembered The way she endured Chemo with such grace The way her frail body felt in my embrace The painful coughing that cracked her ribs Her fingernails all torn down deep to the nibs The coma she lingered in for weeks Each breath she took and held made us seek To see if that one breath had been her last But stubbornly she let it through her lips pass To draw another each one more shallow She never would have wanted to be left to wallow The tubes and wires, masks and fluids Was not my Mother, how could they do it At last the family all agreed To release her from her misery No I couldn't cry for her that day I held it all in until the funeral came Then as the pall bearers carried her casket down the isle I cried and cried just like a child "I Remember Mamma" Contest Placement: 3rd place