I caught my breath the day I saw
My mammy lying there
Her lifeless body coffined now
A stillness in the air
This lovely lady my dear mum
So full of life so good
Was gone from me and I left dumb
I hadn’t understood
How powerful that day would be
The moment I walked in
Her quiet room a sanctuary
Where once her life had been
And Michael cried and sat him down
And Margaret quietly stood
And I recovered composure then
As best as best I could
The spirit gone the person gone
What is this thing called death
The body we shall bury soon
Where is the holy breath
What happens to the person now
The one we knew so well
Is that the end of everything
We say no one can tell
The body is a real thing
As real as melting snow
And our spirit is a mystery
Where does the spirit go
As we look west to setting suns
And east to where it rises
I put my faith in the God of Love
And the God of great surprises
Brian Fahy
12 April 2021
Erris Poetry 