The Death of a Family Matriarch

The Death of a Family Matriarch

By Mwebe Morgan

Let her sleep deep and low,
Let us not weep or feel sorrowful,
For she is at her journey’s end,
Left with no memories to mend.
No one knows life’s fate.

My Grandmother fixed her gaze on us,
with tears in her eyes,
She attempted to grin, but her pain was too much for her.
Her swollen leg lay on a rough cushion.
She attempted to whisper something,
But she lacked a voice.
She motioned for a pencil and some paper.

She jotted something down after a time,
with much effort, and grinned like a tooth fairy.
“Don’t mourn over me,” the message stated.
“It was my life to live; now, I return to the Giver.”
I sobbed softly as I held her slimy body in my arms.
She brushed away my tears.

I pondered on the beautiful times we had enjoyed.
I had a faint idea of my own mother.
My grandmother had raised me as her own son.
Both of my parents had died in a car accident.
My grandmother drove me to my first preschool,
And returned every afternoon to pick me up.
She always had some boiled maize cobs, sweet potatoes, and freshly squeezed banana juice.
She radiated intelligence and kindness.
We resided in a little fishing village on Lake Victoria.
She showed me how to smoke fish and distill some strong local gin.
“Be always self-sufficient and work hard,” she used to urge.”.

I peered gravely at her in her hospital bed,
And pondered where the time had gone.
She got up again, lifted her head in agony,
Then she embraced her grandchildren.
She took out an old brown envelope and handed it to me.
Her thin, slender hand tapped lightly on the envelope.
A tall, fair-skinned nurse drew forward and murmured.
“Do not open the letter till after your grandmother has departed.”

I slid the envelope into my laptop bag, squeezed her hand, and expressed my appreciation.
She smiled again, but tears streamed down her hollow cheeks.
She must have realized that the time to make peace with her creator had finally arrived.
I am a better man because of her strenuous discipline yet she was a loving and kind woman.