She had a tough time
We didn’t know
Decades
I gladly drove the three hours
To the church my mother was raised in
My brother and I
Went through the line
The brothers
And sisters
Of Judy
We listened to the remembrances
From her brother Paul
A devout and gifted evangelist
Who led us in the 23rd Psalm
Inserting Judy’s name for each personal pronoun
Eloquent
As was Judy’s nephew
In his words about his aunt
The two tributes were rich
Cousin Paul spoke of journeys
Judy’s having ended here on earth
Our journey continuing
Until we would join Judy
And all those who went before her
Sweetness permeated all descriptions of Judy
She had the little girl sweetness
I thought this as I watched the attendants from the funeral home
They performed the ritual
With guidance from the director at the back of the church
One of them had trouble with the candlestick placement
But he persisted
They pulled back the cover on the casket
They gently pulled up the flaps of cloth
At Judy’s side
Folding it inside
And used the same care
With the cloth above her head
Gently nestling it above her hair
Then slowly the lid was closed
And the casket turned
There was a sweetness to the movements
A ceremony
It was like they were tucking in a little baby
A sweet little baby
In her crib.