MY MUM

I am your daughter who you Loved as a girl,
who watched me grow up, who knew me so well,
you Loved me like no other Love in the world,
I grew up a women and you were so proud,
of the things that I did and the things that I didn't!
I watched you grow older, I watched you retire,
and move from the place that you Loved so much,
to follow the man that you Loved even more,
to be able to hear those waves lap by the shore,
then came a time you said you were sick,
a darkness had come to infest you and spread,
it was fast, it was rotten, it was evil and quick,
the doctors they came, the doctors they looked,
they prodded and poked and the blood that they took,
"It's cancer they said, it's cancer right there, look see,
these blood cells are weak, they don't work well at all,
but we can help you my dear",
They gave you some poison, pumped it into your veins,
it spread through your body, it killed all your hair,
but you grew stronger and brighter, your cheeks became red,
"The cancer has gone dear, time to get out of that bed".
My baby was born and my god you were proud,
You'd become a grandmother, you had a purpose right now,
to live and get stronger, to fight and survive,
to get yourself fit again, to continue your life.
But the pain it came back and the suffering began,
the doctors were wrong, it was never your blood,
"We found some darkness on your liver" they said,
"We are so sorry, it must have spread,
not from your blood though, but from your lungs,
a tiny black tumor, we also found,
but we can't take it out, no, it's not too long now,
maybe two years is the time you have left,
a little time maybe to watch as he grows,
the baby you Love so much, from his head to his toes",
But how they were wrong, how they pumped you with drugs,
the chemo, the radiotherapy, it was never enough,
your body grew weak, it just couldn't cope,
you laid in your bed, you gave up all hope,
we came down to see you, to make you smile,
and when we had gone, it wasn't a while,
it wasn't a year or even two,
only a few months had passed since the cancer returned,
and before we could visit again, before we could say,
"I Love you dear Mummy, please don't go away!",
your body gave up, your body gave in,
your soul it departed, you breath became thin.
We saw you lying so still but not there,
you'd gone up to Heaven?, who knows, do we care?
and now you have gone, to be no-more.
Five years have passed now, and I still Love you dear,
I miss you each day and I long to hear,
your voice saying "Shelley, I Love you my girl",
but its only in dreams and not so vivid now,
so sleep well dear Mummy and please rest in peace,
I Love you my Mummy.
The tears oh they flow down my face as I write,
but I can never let go, I can never forget,
just remember you well, goodbye and god bless,
sleep well and sleep tight.

Written by Shelley Skinner 29/08/08

RIP Mum 19th September 2003

Below is a poem that I found many years ago on the internet. The Author is unknown.

I ONLY WANTED YOU

They say memories are golden,
well maybe that is true.
I never wanted memories,
I only wanted you.
A million times I needed you,
a million times I cried.
If Love alone could have saved you,
you never would have died.
In life I Loved you dearly,
In death I Love you still.
In my heart you hold a place,
no one could ever fill.
If tears could build a stairway,
and heartache make a lane.
I'd walk the path to heaven,
and bring you back again.
Our family chain is broken,
and nothing seems the same.
But as God calls us one by one,
the chain will link again.