Meditation On Dad's Mind [rev] Poem by Margaret Alice Second

Mom is agitated, speaks breathlessly, her voice
trembles - a loving autocratic religious fanatic,
but I could not stand her ravings as my dad was
dying - cutting her off when she tried to repeat
her endless stories in an acute religious fervour

I walked off when she watched the noisy pastor
with his gurgling, falling-about disciples receiving
a spirit or something, a huge show, but I cannot
stand concerts. Now mom's lost without dad to
take care of, without dad to fill her refined world

With his raucous voice; and she misses him, his
sense of humour and irritating habit of switching
on his folk music far too loud, of listening to the
news at highest volume - & then there's Daniel,
dad's gardener who was more Dad's close

Companion for whom dad prepared tea and sand-
wiches - Daniel still waters the garden & still sits
in his corner quietly, still remembers dad's passion
for green, growing things - back to my meditation
on dad's MIND wandering other dimensions