My last visit with Jennifer Ryan (my daughter’s mother-in-law) was September 6, 2019 and it left me shaken and sad.
Lament for Jen o’fer
She was …….she was….. she ain’t anymore what she was
Jen o’ fer (as they say in merry tea sodden ole England) Jen o fer
I lament for who you were and are no more.
She was …….she was….. she ain’t anymore what she was ….
Oh Jen o fer
To the manor born you were you were
Wisteria blooming on old stone hedges
Of course…a coat of arms
A family dictum in Latin
Was it truth before beauty? some such
Horses
too many barking dogs
Probably fleas and definitely hairballs.
Ah the pleasures of country life
Daddy’s doing the Nanny
Mommy’s plotting her escape
….leaving her children behind
For Jennifer no mommy just the nanny
No goodbyes …not sentimental those British.
Cruel unhealed wounds
Made you ruthlessly honest
No dissembling
No fear of bad manners
But a definite need for strong drink.
AH Jen o fer
I lament for who you were
with all your cranky meanness towards me
had a soft spot in my heart for you
Admired your walk a way adventurous spirit,
your knowledge of music and musical men.. remarkable
I shuttered at your
aptitude for words …spitting your opinions loud
unafraid of your thoughts. Unapologetic.
Seeing you today so diminished has broken my reserve against feeling my love : the soul flame still burns in your enfeebled shell almost out / your eyes rheumy /your body turned on itself/ your voice silenced.
The old cat curls next to you warming on your dying cinders. He will not leave you.
Where have you gone? I miss you.
She was …….she was….. she ain’t anymore what she was
I lament for who you were and are no more.