Hear Ye

Even I am relieved that the ordeal is over

That she finally died

The process so magnified that it spilled over everywhere

Young great grandchildren sang songs to her

Picnicking at her bedside

Adult grandchildren held vigil

Snuggling close

Freeing the even older adult children for a breather

All eulogized

Hear ye

Hear ye

We did all these things for her

Hear ye

Hear ye

She spent her last two weeks in a morphine induced coma

Freed from cancer pain

Perhaps freed from loving attention

My mother died in an ambulance with the attendant praying for her

She didn’t die alone

Jews are not supposed to die alone

My cousin said her newly dead mother had the best life of all her sisters

You might be right I say back

Your mother had all the trimmings

Adoring grandchildren and great grandchildren

A full life of estimable acts

My mother

A brilliant independent soul

Is buried alone 

Not near her husband or her parents

But serenely surrounded by other dead Jews

So she can kibitz without strings attached

Perfect I say to my cousin

Just perfect

©kcasady2014

White Hair

The departed spends her first night in her grave 

Tucked in by relatives and friends

Each tossing three shovelfuls of dirt upon her coffin

A gesture of pure kindness

One for which there can be no repayment 

While the white hairs stood and watched 

Too old to lift even the tiniest bits of soil

Imagining their dead compatriot listening from within her eternal cocoon 

Watching for her hovering soul

Waiting for it to fly free

All the while counting the moments till their turn

Wondering by whose hands their graves will be filled

©kcasady2024

Null and Void

Perhaps I'm inured to it

Seasoned

A little bit too familiar

The old ones keep dying

Been through it before

Sadly

Knowing what to expect

The comments about long life

The brave remarks about the death

The requisite love and adoration

The war stories of caring for the old and frail

But past the cynicism 

Underneath 

Not too far below the surface

Exists a sense of wistfulness

Of longing to go back

To when the old ones were in their prime

When they buffered us 

The next generation

When their homespun faces dotted holiday dinners

The young ones assured of no change

Certain of continuity and always

Only a single old one still lives

For her

At 97 continuity disconnects and always becomes never

Time scampers quickly

Exhibiting an agility no one can stop

We younger ones step up

Reluctantly dotting funeral tables

with our taut faces

As we shield the next ones

Taking our turn

Walking involuntarily toward null and void

©kcasady2014

With An Out Stretched Arm

Sitting at the family Seder

I look around

Liking the people

Some my cousins

Some folks I've never seen before 

Sharing the paschal lamb

As we are bid in the bible

Telling the story of the Exodus from Egypt 

I am obliged to drink four cups of wine

A ritual I'll gladly follow

Perhaps adding in a couple more

Then as the People of the Book

With our reputation on the line

We begin discussing

Flexing our intellects

Flying free from the rigors of observance

We speak of this and that

Mostly Jewish topics 

Allegedly relevant to Passover

The holocaust

And where was the God who

Brought us forth from Egypt

Rained plagues upon our oppressors

Parted the Red Sea and drowned Pharaoh's legions

But even still

The Six Million died at the hands of the Nazis

The wise Seder pundits offer no answer

And I think we should be praying

Practicing our rituals

Upholding our traditions 

Following the Haggadah

Our road map

The book that 

Prescribes the order of the Seder

Prompts us when to break the matzah

Open the door for Elijah

Eat sweet charoset mixed with bitter herbs

And when to drink the wine

Because my old aunt died today

My mother's sister

She nearly made 95

My bitter herbs came early 

Already dipped in salt water

I do not need to debate

Hate

Anti semitism

Zionism

Palestine

I do need prayer

Friendly conversation

A holiday meal

A bit of ritual structure

And the third and fourth glass of wine

Now

©kcasady2014