Ode to a Grand Old Lady — a poem

I was at a funeral there, Sunday past

I say funeral, except
It weren't one of those sad funerals where everyone's world
Has been shattered into a million pieces
Broken
Laid out on the floor
Visible in sight of every soul
Never to be repaired

Nah
This was more of a celebration
Of a life well lived, to its fullest
And a hell of a long life at that

And we knew this day was coming
We had time
Time to prepare
Not that you're ever fully prepared, really
But most of us had the chance to make our peace
And say our final goodbyes

Saint Luke's, Walton
Twelve noon
'Better get there early
It'll be a big one,' I reasoned

For she was the matriarch of her huge family
And the heartbeat of her community
A Grand Old Lady
An enigma
A formidable woman
Who was simply larger than life itself

'Better get there early'
It seemed everyone had the same idea

For they had all come out to line the narrow streets
And pay their respects
Such was the esteem we held her in
And the impact she had on all our lives

People as far as the eye could see
And further still
I swear there must have been fifty thousand of us!
Standing room only
Inside and out

A vision of Blue
Blue as the unblemished Blue skies above us that Sunday
For Blue was her favourite colour
And after all, this was a celebration in her honour

"What age was she?"
"A hundred and thirty-three, would you believe?!"

A hundered and thirty-three!!!
The sights she must have seen!
That's... that's...
Unbelieveable
Unimaginable
Unfathomable

That's... that's older than me, my dad and my lad
Put together

Me, my dad, my lad...

We used to visit her, the three of us
Most weekends
Together
And she always had a new story to tell us
Maybe a piece of Toffee for the youngest
The memories
They'll never leave us...

Old friends, extended family
Faces you haven't seen in years
Faces you'd hardly recognise
From how you remembered them
Older now
Aren't we all?

A familiar comfort in those faces
A journey through time

Time
That inevitability of time
Passing
In the blink of an eye
Yes, the passage of time
Fight with all your might
It's the one battle none of us will win

In unison, as one
We clapped, we sang along
We shared old stories of our shared connection to this Grand Old Lady
People laughed, people smiled, people lamented, people cried
People
She lived for her people

Heck, there was even one point a game of football broke out among some of the fellas
I kid you not!
Everyone stopped and watched, for a while
Blues versus yellows
Blues won, she'd have loved that
Not that it really mattered
Our minds were adrift, you see

Drifting towards that dreaded, unavoidable moment we knew was coming when it would be time to take our leave
For the final time
For Good

The inevitability of time

A lone violin echoes
Hauntingly
Beautifully
Chillingly
Playing her favourite tune

Through glassy eyes I choke back my tears
Quivering
Silent

Those that could hummed along, then some more
And more again until a crescendo of song burst out
Bursting like the flood of tears streaming down my cheeks
A cacophony of song and colour and energy and emotion
Everything this Grand Old Lady was

The realisation that this would be the final time we would all be together like this
Final words and hugs for those nearest and dearest to us
Knowing in our hearts that we might not see each other again
For it was this Grand Old Lady who brought us all together

But don't you worry
Her spirit and her memory will live on, undimmed, undiminished
Yes, her girls will see to that alright
And the rest of us will carry those treasured memories in our hearts
Always
Forever

A hundred and thirty-three.
A life well lived. A legacy.

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