Monday, February 27, 2012

Sense of Serenity

A sense of serenity surrounds us as this family deals with death;
This is not to say that there's no strife, even as they do their best.
There are teenagers removed from their usual routines and home,
And there's not enough space for anyone to be alone.

There are husbands and wives who have been on high alert
For many months as they put the patriarch's needs first.
I wonder how some families can absorb so much pain
And still are able to, their cooperative composure, maintain.

Perhaps it is the laughter that they all seem to enjoy,
And the respect for each other they insist that all employ.
Perhaps it is the example exhibited by parents
Who step in immediately when hurt feelings are sensed.

Perhaps it is the respect for the family's matriarch
About whose feelings and wishes none seem to balk.
"What would mother want done?" they all seem to say,
"And what would make the patriarch proud if he were alive today?"

What they do when their individual families are alone,
I'm quite sure that we haven't been fully shown;
But it is a blessing when a family works so well to preserve
The peace that such a life-altering event deserves.