On A Doting Mother Losing Her Only Son

She sits on the first pew of the church in the customary place,
Too emotional to notice the sweet fragrance of all the beautiful flowers.
Tears pour from her eyes, wetting the cheeks of her face.
She thinks this service seems to have dragged on for hours.

Remembrances of her son, now here in front of this assemblage,
Fill her mind with happy thoughts of bygone years shared together.
As a single mother raising her only child had seemed a privilege;
For the past 21 years her greatest joy had come from being his mother.

Starting with his birth until the very present, upon him she had doted.
Her whole life had revolved around him and his becoming simply the best.
Her overzealous involvement in his life family and friends alike had noted,
But, due to her guidance she felt, her son was clearly better than all the rest.

They had been the perfect mother and son, him always following her advice.
He'd excelled at every endeavor in his lfe; she'd never have allowed otherwise.
She always took as her personal triumph his being so intelligent, so nice.
Now she feels so helpless, not having prevented this which she does despise.

She knew it was inevitable, his growing up and becoming a man,
And when he had insisted on attending a college out of state,
She expected it would be harder to make him live according to her plan,
But never had she imagined at his young age he would suffer this horrible fate.

Just then she hears the preacher say "I now pronounce you Husband and Wife".
Those assembled burst into applause, the wedding ceremony's end to tell.
The mother now thinks "Well, missy, you'd better for the rest of your life
Treat my baby boy well or you'll discover you inherited a mother-in-law from Hell!"

Harry Edward Gilleland      12.04.01