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Mum eulogy

My dearest mother,
Now you may finally sleep and rest in peace.
When your eyes awaken once more,
May you be greeted, by your beloved husband,
My late father, and all the family
Who journeyed before you.

Mummy, I have known you all my life.
You raised me to be kind,
Good, thoughtful, and patient.
You taught me letting go of worry,
To seek joy within my heart,
And to treat others gently.

I still remember
Your colourful jellies —Liquid and solid,
Beautiful to behold, sweet and delicious to taste.

At such a young age
You lost your teeth
From loving sweets too dearly.
Even now,
That memory makes me smile.
Rest peacefully, Mummy.
Be reborn into light,
Into happiness,
Into a beautiful new life.

I have loved you
For as long as I can remember —
And I will continue to love you
Even if one day
Dementia comes for my own mind too.

On 27 April 2026,
You were admitted to hospital
With a lung infection and delirium.
Doctors and nurses
Had so many decisions to make.
And through my busy days,
I found moments to visit you.

The hardest part was the travelling —
And wondering
If I was doing enough,
If I truly knew
How best to help you
As you lay quietly in bed.

I spoke to you
Even when your eyes remained closed.
I asked for your forgiveness
For our disagreements,
For moments of frustration,
For the arguments born
From forgetfulness and fixation.

Yet beneath it all
Was always your love —
A love unlike any other mother’s,
A love given
In your own unique way.

For many decades,
You devoted yourself
To volunteering at the temple,
Organising activities and gatherings
For your beloved community.
You lived independently,
In your own home,
And oh, how you loved shopping,
Every supermarket,
Every shopping centre
Brought you happiness.
Hence, you earned the title proudly:
Shopaholic.

On 25 May 2026 at 7pm
A phone call shattered my world.
My mother had taken
Her final breath
Soon after I left.
Tears poured from me
As I cried with all my heart.
Yet in Buddhism,
One is taught
Not to bind the departed
With overwhelming sorrow.
Too much grief, too many cries,
May tether the soul
Back to this earthly world —
Unable to let go
Of all it once loved.
So I tried
To release you gently,
With love instead of holding on.
You lay peacefully
Between the white hospital sheets.
Before 9pm,
I returned
To the palliative care unit.
One by one,
Our family gathered beside you.
Together in grief,
Together in love.
May tether the soul
Back to this earthly world —
Unable to let go
Of all it once loved.

deatheulogymaymotherfree verse

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