by Linda (Custer) Garrett

My Mother

She was born in Lincoln, Nebraska;
The daughter of a railroad man.
He was a tall and burly fellow
With large and rough-looking hands.

She lived a hard, poor life
As most people did back then;
Her father was injured in a train wreck,
And he was never the same again.

He beat her most severely
When she didn't bend to his will.
She thought she was lost and alone
'Till one day a stranger came over the hill.

He was a good and kindly man;
A traveling preacher, all alone.
When he looked into her soft, young eyes,
He knew he would make her his own.

She didn't feel anything for this man;
Just knew that somehow she had to get out
Of this hell that she knew as life;
That's all, at that moment, she cared about.

This man was nine years her senior,
But he loved her; would make her his wife.
So against her father's will, he took her;
Took her away to a better life.

Their life was far from easy,
But hard times were not new to her.
The man was loving and patient;
Something in her heart started to stir.

They worked side by side in the fields;
After three years, she gave him a son.
The love in her heart started to grow;
A life-long journey, they had begun.

As the years traveled ever onward,
Seven more children came, one by one.
Her love for this man grew deep;
This man that had made her his own.

They spent sixty-three loving years together,
But after a long illness, her love: he died.
She was never the same after that;
Having to live without him by her side.

She had her children to comfort her,
But her love was always on her mind.
She dwelled in sorrow and sadness;
No peace on this earth she could find.

So she waited for twelve long years;
Waited for God to call her home.
Waited for them to once more be together;
Just waiting not to be so alone.

Then one day, God answered her prayers;
Called her home in an instant of sight;
Called her home to be with her true love;
Forever in Heaven to walk by his side.

When I start to grow lonely and sad,
When the loss in my heart, I can't hide;
I think of her smiling down upon me;
And I start to feel better inside.

For I know in my heart, my Mother,
That in Heaven, love and joy abound.
I take comfort in the fact that finally
The peace that you sought, you've found.

In loving memory of my Mother, Iva P. Custer, without whose love, wisdom, caring, and giving I would not have learned how to cope with life.

Linda F. Garrett