by Dena Straughn
Member since:
August 12, 2007

Missing Her (Not really a poem)

September 21, 2007 01:06 AM EDT (Updated: September 24, 2007 11:17 AM EDT)
views: 233 | rating: 10/10 (58 votes) | comments: 63

I thought of you today.

Your elation over me,

Insignificant to others,

Never to you;

You always cared.

I miss calling

A hundred times a week,

“What do I set the oven on for cornbread?”

“I am out of oil; can you use butter instead?”

I miss your spätzle and schnitzel

And the pies and cakes.

I miss coming over to visit

And staying way too late.

I miss your laugh.

I miss having your

Hand on my fevered brow.

I miss that you always knew how to fix me .

 

You are there when I make my bed,

Telling me how to turn to corners.

You are there in when I’m finishing dishes,

Telling me to dry behind the faucet.

You are there with me when I sweep

Or vacuum and hundreds of other

Little things you taught me to do.

 

I miss the stories you told me

From your childhood.

I am forgetting them and

Wishing that I had written them down.

 

I am really going to miss you Saturday.

She’s beautiful Mom.

She looks like you.

And her wedding dress

Is real pretty.

I hope your watching.

 

It will be a good day.

But, I will miss you.

 

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Comments: 63

April H. Sep 21, 2007, 1:14am EDT
THis is so beautiful. My eyes are tearing as I type. I know exactly how you are feeling as I too lost my mother this year and my youngest son was just married and a grandchild was born that she never got to know.
Birdee F. Sep 21, 2007, 1:17am EDT
Awwww that last part made me teary eyed! I am going to feel that same way when my momma is gone! :o( I will miss the same things!
Brenda (square peg in a round hole) H. Sep 21, 2007, 1:21am EDT
I am sure she will be watching Dena. Hugs to you.
Rita R. Sep 21, 2007, 1:27am EDT
Wow! You made me miss my mom so very much. It IS a poem and a very beautiful poem. Not all poetry rhymes, but all poetry evokes an emotional response. Excellent writing. Thanks.
Sara L. Sep 21, 2007, 1:27am EDT
Beautiful :)
Lune Wolfsong Sep 21, 2007, 1:31am EDT
sniffle* You made me miss the mom I didn't have. But I hope to be that kind of mom for my daughter. Thank you, Dena. Wishing you and your daughter well on Saturday.
Susan E. Sep 21, 2007, 1:34am EDT
sniffle here, too. And I was just with my mom a couple of hours ago.
Rena Renee R. Sep 21, 2007, 1:42am EDT
Beautiful but very, very sad. Uplifting, though.
Barb M Sep 21, 2007, 1:43am EDT
Absolutely beautiful - she will be there don't you worry - she's already in your heart!!!
Sandra T. Sep 21, 2007, 1:44am EDT
Very touching!
Shannon W Sep 21, 2007, 1:44am EDT
Beautiful Dena...
Steph-in-NE ..... Sep 21, 2007, 2:06am EDT
you know Dena you have such a beautiful heart,, and you know why there is where you mom hold you deep with in,, my sister past many year ago,, and there are time I just cant think of life with out her,, yet my dad, remind me that there is life because of my heart and she holds so deep, so remeber that Saturday,, if you have time, find something old for your daughter, and heart of sort, and tell her grandma is here,,
Just a thought,, then the day will go blessed because you both a beautifull heart within
Jerry Owens Sep 21, 2007, 2:09am EDT
She will be with you on that day! Thanks for sharing this Dena!
Heather C. Sep 21, 2007, 3:21am EDT
Thanks Dena for the wonderful poem! You brought tears to my eyes. It is hard when you lose someone you love so much. I am sorry your Mom is no longer here. Cherish that you had a Mother who was so wonderful. I accept what my life was as a child, but how I longed for a Mother like yours. You were very very very fortunate. I am sure she will be there on that wonderful day somehow. Your daughter is fortunate have you as a Mother too. I just hope that my children love me as much as you love her as I have tried to be the mother I never had and would have wanted.
Lela M. Sep 21, 2007, 4:19am EDT
That was beautiful. Dena, your poetry is so sweet and loving. I really believe she will be there watching and I'm sure she is very proud of both of you. It's wonderful to have such a great mother. Have a great wedding.
tish b. Sep 21, 2007, 4:31am EDT
that was so inspiring i had to call my mom before i wrote this. i am so going to miss her when she goes. i try not to think about it. my friends and other family say that she's the only person they know for sure is going to heaven:). have you ever met a person who doesn't swear, but tells the best dirty jokes ever heard? Have you ever heard of an 60,000 dollar aa year executive getting caught playing jacks with her 18 year old daughter under the kitchen table. (what a memory) that's my mom. thank you for reminding me how much i love her.
elizabeth e. Sep 21, 2007, 5:47am EDT
Lovely tribute to your Mom.
donna h. Sep 21, 2007, 5:51am EDT
Dena, I lost my mom when I was only 26. Almost half my life has been without her , but I do know that she is with me spiritually. I cried last week when I was sitting in a confirmation parent meeting- thinking how both my youngest daughter's grandmothers have passed over and how they are missing this day. But, I know inside of me, they are there.
Donna Hammett-Tooker Sep 21, 2007, 6:16am EDT
Good, bad or indifferent - you only have one mom. I am glad yours was from the "good" bunch, Dena. Just remember that good moms usually beget good moms so your daughter may have the same "poem" writhing around in her head trying to write its way out.
Danielle P. Sep 21, 2007, 6:35am EDT
You mom will be with you in spirit. Enjoy the day and I hope it is a blessed day for you and your daughter and family!!!! I enjoyed the sentiments to your mom. I can only hope my kids feel like that about me one day.
Guaranteed your mom will be there, Dena, but just not where you can see her. She'll be in everything good about the day, for her spirit will have touched it in a special way.

Ernie
LaRue B. Sep 21, 2007, 7:36am EDT
Dena, that is so awesome. I feel it in my heart. You touch me with what you write. It hits so close to home. Thanks for stirring memories of time gone by.
Sandy (back in Ohio...blah!) Sep 21, 2007, 8:01am EDT
GReat job. I enjoyed reading it very much. You get a ten from me.
Susan Roberts Sep 21, 2007, 9:19am EDT
BEAUTIFUL!! I think you hit that right on for a lot of us. My parents have been gone for a lot of years but I still find myself picking up the phone to call them. Or saying they are going to get a kick out of what one of the grandkids did. But I will just say a big THANK YOU GOD for the parents I had. To me, they were the best!! Thanks for sending this one out.
Yvonne F. Sep 21, 2007, 9:29am EDT
I truly believe your mum is with you all the time Dena and she will really enjoy the special day. The feelings that you have let out to all of us are beautiful, thank you.
Monica W. Sep 21, 2007, 9:38am EDT
That was beautiful! She'll be watching, she wouldn't miss it.

I think I'll call my mom now.
Kimberly Ripley Sep 21, 2007, 10:12am EDT
Poignant. Bittersweet. Beautifully written!
Heather W. Sep 21, 2007, 12:03pm EDT
Sad, but beautiful. I am sure your mom will be with you in spirit Sat.
Kathy F. Sep 21, 2007, 12:07pm EDT
Beautiful. I couldn't have said it better!....especially the part about calling her, the cooking questions(corn bread, YUM). Thank you for sending this out. My Momma has been gone four months now and I STILL go to pick up the phone. God Bless you & yours and Happy Wedding. SHE WILL BE THERE!!!....you know that, don't you?
Dan R. Sep 21, 2007, 1:17pm EDT
Such saddness and love expressed very openly in this.
Lovely write here.
I can feel the pain you still have over your loss.
C A. Sep 21, 2007, 2:19pm EDT
Touching. Haunting. Beautiful.

God Bless.
carolyn m. Sep 21, 2007, 2:29pm EDT
i lost my mom in 1995 and i think of her often and i miss her so much but my granddaughters have some of her features so i do still get a glimps of her sometimes thank you it was sad but beautiful
Dan Walter Sep 21, 2007, 4:32pm EDT
"It's not dying that hurts so much, it's being away so long."
-- Seen on a tombstone.

A great tribute to your mother Dena!


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Old Crow (straight, but not narrow) Sep 21, 2007, 6:08pm EDT
Dena, that is a wonderful piece, very powerful. Thanks for sharing it.
annette p. Sep 21, 2007, 6:43pm EDT
Wonderfulllllllll,,, i think you really know now your mother,, and missed her so much..
Larry H. Sep 21, 2007, 6:46pm EDT
thanks for sharing. I loved my mom even if she did not love me..
Marge H. Sep 21, 2007, 7:10pm EDT
A beautiful and touching tribute. As many others have said, she will be there for your daughter's special day.
Cecilia N. Sep 21, 2007, 7:13pm EDT
very touching.simple and clear.
Cheryl W. Sep 21, 2007, 10:33pm EDT
Very lovely and poignant. It made me think of my mom.
Jerri H. Sep 21, 2007, 11:28pm EDT
Beautiful!!! I hope the best of days for you tomorrow.
Pamela G. Sep 22, 2007, 6:32am EDT
This is a lovely piece. TY.
Pamela
Luna Rushdi Sep 22, 2007, 7:45am EDT
Hi Dena, this is so touching and beautiful, I really have tears in my eyes now. I live in Auckland and my parents currently live in Melbourne, Australia. At times I think how it would feel in a world when they are not there anymore, I can't even imagine the emptiness I would feel... your poem makes all my childhood memories rush back to me..and makes me long to be able to turn back time, just for a little while. I am really touched!
Quinn (aka Entwife) Blackburn Sep 22, 2007, 9:57am EDT
Gorgeously poignant tribute

..
U wishing you laughter
Joella B. Sep 23, 2007, 1:18am EDT
Lovely, it makes me realize that I am worrying I will be feeling that way all too soon about my father. He is so sick (3 types of cancer) that their grandson (my son) is 6 months old and they still haven't met him.
James B. Sep 23, 2007, 4:07pm EDT
Great job.
John Harris Beck Sep 24, 2007, 9:35am EDT
"Not really a poem." Well, it's that modesty along with the precise details which helps this fine poem build and build and build, opening out from reminiscence into a new but nostalgic joy of transition. Hollywood's done this, but you make it real in a handful of words.
Jerri H. Sep 24, 2007, 11:45am EDT
I hope the wedding was beautiful!!!
Glenn T. Sep 24, 2007, 12:49pm EDT
Dena, this is a lovely song of the heart. The passionate and enduring blessedness of love.
Vinay Benjamin Sep 24, 2007, 1:17pm EDT
Wonderfully expressed Dena - brought back some memories of my own.
denise e Sep 24, 2007, 7:06pm EDT
very beautiful. thank you for sharing.
golds g. Sep 24, 2007, 7:09pm EDT
very emotional thanks for sharing
I loved this Dena!
M & M. Sep 24, 2007, 9:04pm EDT
Excellent as always. 10 rate again. Thanks for sharing.
Henry R. Sep 25, 2007, 8:57am EDT
You made me cry - again!
Mary (diet dr pepper junkie) T. Sep 25, 2007, 7:29pm EDT
Wonderful, Dena....isn't it amazing that it's the little things that you miss most? I so miss calling my mother as much as I did..... thank you Dena, and I know the wedding was beautiful! We can't wait to see your photo essay.
Laura M. Sep 26, 2007, 3:19am EDT
Beautiful, Dena. That this amazing woman raised such a grateful and talented woman speaks to the many,many mentionings in your "poem" and the many others I am sure there is not room for that helped to guide you to become so special. . Her influence seems to be present in all you do and she still feels so alive through you. My favorite line is "I miss that you always knew how to fix me ."
Marie c. Sep 30, 2007, 4:16pm EDT
It made me think of my mom and I am still weepy as I write, thanks for versing some of my own loss, it was great Dena
Laurun M. Oct 4, 2007, 7:53am EDT
This breaks my heart. I'm sorry for your loss.
Melissa R-S Oct 11, 2007, 11:16pm EDT
Such a sweet expression of emotions. Grief is so hard to deal with sometimes but writing always seems to help.

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