A couple of weeks ago I attended the 100th birthday celebration of my grandmother. It was a wonderful experience.
Well, a few months before I had been approached by an uncle and asked if I would write a poem for her about her life, and then read it for the family at the party! It was a wonderful honor, but, considering I hadn't written any poetry for around a year (for various reasons), it was also a little daunting. Imagine, paying tribute to 100 years, and a mother of nearly as many descendants!
I struggled with it for quite a while, trying to find the words, trying to make it into something with feeling, meaning and love - in other words, trying to breathe a soul onto paper. I finally finished it in the last few hours before I would get up to read it. Here is a copy of it.
The Best of Years
O, Mother of Multitudes,
your life's a tapestry
of unbounded influence
on friend and family.
You may not know in full
what your life has meant,
or of the lives changed
for which you were sent.
Not least of these your children,
your sprouting oak-tree stem;
each in your heart found place,
each one a wanted gem.
Oh, the weaving of your life,
to touch many a thread!
A hundred little moments
with infinity ahead.
Lives have been touched,
and many will be still;
no matter where you are
this place you'll always fill.
Do not bemoan times past,
nor call them back with tears -
the legacy you've built
makes these the best of years.
~David Jamison~
