Passing of the Matriarch
By Craig Stellpflug
©Copyright 2009 all rights reserved

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust
And back to the earth we are thrust
A baby’s born, a woman dies
And at her death her daughter cries
In silence they watch her embark
At the passing of the matriarch

Life is simple and life is vain
To live is Christ to die is gain
Her husband and her sons do weep
Memories are what they keep
They gather ‘round the fading spark
At the passing of the matriarch

Oh hear the wisdom of the sage
While countless lifelong battles rage
The friends that gathered did lament
And all their prayers to heaven sent
There was ne’er heard a bad remark
At the passing of the matriarch

They say life is for the living
To be kind and strong, forgiving
Her brothers and her sisters wail
As the life-light in her eyes doth fail
The days are bright, the night is dark
At the passing of the matriarch

Of all the things that you accrue
Be known by love and what is true
Standing so near her parents sigh
As the very last breath draws nigh
The preacher says a soft remark
At the passing of the matriarch