My extraordinary mother, Joyce Cole Dow, passed away on June 20, 2020. At her funeral, I was blessed to be able to share this poem inspired by many summer vacations in Maine spent at my grandmother’s cottage. This quaint retreat is nestled along the bank of a beautiful spring-fed lake. Behind the cottage is a steep, tree-covered embankment that when crested, overlooks a two-lane highway. While the ledges have since crumbled and the trees have now overtaken the summit, many precious memories still reside there.
It Wasn’t Goodbye
As long as I can remember, as we crept down the drive
We left the blue cottage with a tear in our eye
Days in paradise swallowed quickly in time
On a crystal-clear lake so blissfully sublime
Turning onto the highway, we’d glance up to the left
To see Grammy Dick standing there, high on a cleft
Through the pines and the birch, uphill she did climb
To blow us a kiss and wave just one more time
It wasn’t goodbye and it wasn’t the end
Just a sun that was setting that we’d soon see again
As the years went on by and mom returned home
Departures meant two now stood on that dome
GiGi and JoJo trekking up the steep hill
Four waving hands in the early morning chill
It wasn’t goodbye and it wasn’t the end
Just a sun that was setting that we’d soon see again
When GiGi passed on, the tradition did remain
As Mom, by herself, climbed this hilly domain
I guess I should confess that my exit was slowed
Pausing at the Big Rock before turning on the road
I hoped my snail’s pace would allow her the time
To crest the rocky ridge for our departing pantomime
It wasn’t goodbye and it wasn’t the end
Just a sun that was setting that we’d soon see again
As summers came and went, stubborn will on display
She climbed that pine-treed precipice, to send us on our way
Stepping with care around the tall Queen Anne’s lace
She still signaled fiercely with joy on her face
It wasn’t goodbye and it wasn’t the end
Just a sun that was setting that we’d soon see again
When mom’s roots were replanted in a Hill on a Harbor
My visits were fewer and the goodbyes were much harder
Her steps less-than-sure and her body now failing
That tree-covered incline, now a staircase with railing
Second-floor windows, a new summit she found
Arms waving sweetly, as she peered toward the ground
It wasn’t goodbye and it wasn’t the end
Just a sun that was setting that we’d soon see again
As we stand by her casket for this earthly farewell
Another mountain ascended where forever she’ll dwell
With vision restored and her mind now made whole
Her wrestling is over and there is joy in her soul
Stepping out through the pines and the peeling white birch
From heaven she waves, on that gold celestial perch
It’s not really goodbye and it’s not quite the end
Just a sun that is setting that we’ll soon see again
[Jonathan C Dow 7/1/2020]
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If you appreciated this poem, I have written others that you can find here and here and here. Thank you for reading them! If they have encouraged you, please consider sharing and subscribing!
