You're someone else's mother
Someone else's mom
Someone else is crying today
Cause they lost their first and precious love
My mother hasn't died yet
So I really have no clue
Of the pain that they are feeling
Of what they have to do
They have to bury you, their mother
The woman who gave them life
The woman who wiped all their tears
Who tucked them in at night
I look at your picture and who you are
Is a precious family treasure
I adored you and loved you
And I will remember you with pleasure
But as I cry for you
It is hard for me, not to think of my own Mom
She still breathes and lives and loves me
And one day, I'll be the one
One day the tears they cry
Will be my very own
So how do I reach out today for them
To embrace what I don't want to know
The pain of losing my dad
Will not be the same as losing my mom
When he died, I still had her
When she goes, I'll then have none
You're someone else's mother
Someone else's Mom
I will cry for you today,
And embrace her hard when I am done
© Ruby Neumann
Poet's note: Written July 17, 2020
A few years ago, I wrote a poem called Someone Else's Father. This morning, I revised that poem to pour out my current feelings. Last night, my great aunt Verna passed away. I wondered if I had a poem to write for her, but all that came to my thoughts was this.
What grieves me about the timing is that I will not be able to embrace my Aunt Verna's family in their pain. As is with most memorials during Covid times, we can't gather and embrace each other in our sadness and grief. This was always important in my big extended family. I think of my Uncle Don who just lost his little sister. I want to give him a hug... but I can't.
I found a photo of my Aunt Verna and my Mom. How perfect a picture for this post of the two women on my heart and mind today.
