A Father Dies - A Mother Tries
Updated: Nov 26, 2022
The following is based on a true story
A father told a Mother
as he lay dying on his bed
his voice a mere whisper
you could scarcely hear a word he said
I worry about our youngest
he's so young and full of life
I fear that he is destined
to know heartache, pain and strife
So watch him closely Mother
guide him all you can
he'll need all the help he can get
on his journey to become a man
In silence the Mother stood there
tears of sadness on her cheeks
as she watched her husband slip away
his voice now ever so weak
His family gathered 'round him
to whisper their good-bye's
his body grew limp and lifeless
the glow of life had left his eyes
Then, just before he left them
to whatever lay ahead
he whispered: my youngest is so little
and then my Dad was dead
And so, she did as he had asked
she took upon herself the tasks
of raising this her youngest son
and two more, all three as one
She strived to teach them wrong from right
at night she prayed with all her might
it seemed as though, at least with one
he smaller one, her youngest son
He, it seemed, he would not be taught
and all her teachings came to naught
on his own he tried to stand
in his struggle to become a man
And when at last his manhood gained
he stood alone, in ball and chains
then in his mind his thoughts raced back
to a father lying on his back
To the things his dad had said back then
by twenty-one he'll be in the pen
now all alone in his cold, dark cell
his mind remembers, all too well
All the things his mom had said
now all too soon his mother was dead
He bows his head, and cried and cried
he knew full well his mother tried.
May 15, 1992 - by Robert C. Cline