REMEMBERING AN AUNT.
Auntie used to say, don’t forget
To wash your hands before and
After every meal and after you
Have been to the john and when
You get up in the morning and
Before you go to bed, don’t forget
To wash your neck and face and
Arms up to the elbows, and don’t
Speak with your mouth full and
Always stand when a lady enters
The room and don’t interrupt other
People when they speak and speak
The truth when speaking and always
Remember your prayers. Sixty years
On and standing at her funeral,
Watching the coffin pass you by
Blessed on the coffin cover with
Flowers of different colours, seeing
The sadness on other faces and tears,
Listening to the hymns, watching
The coffin standing there in the chapel,
You think of your auntie, lying there
Still and silent, peaceful and dead,
And remember her words and saying,
I won’t forget, Auntie, inside your head.
