THE MENDING WOMAN

Years Before I Knew Her Name,

Before My Father's Madness Came,

The Mending Woman Spoke His Name,

And Told Him He Was Not To Blame...

Years Later When I Was Only Five,

The Mending Woman Changed My Life,

When I Approached Her Crying Tears,

And Shared My Sorrows And My Fears...

"I'm Not Like Other Boys." I Said,

I Want To Die Is What I Meant,

But The Mending Woman At Her Machine,

She Would Not Let Me Feel Unclean...

She Held Me In Her Arms So Tight,

Her Love Was Like A Blinding Light,

That Kept My Secret Pain At Bay,

Allowing Me To Live Today...

Twelve Years Later My Secret Came Out...

And Was Met In Bloodshed By Anger And Doubt...

But Not Once Did The Patron Saint Of My Heart...

Wish Me Dead Or Departed...Or Pick Me Apart.

She Never Did Falter In Support Through My Grief...

And Her Understanding Was Such A Relief...

For She Could Remember The Child Of Five...

Who Knew He Was Different Since He'd Been Alive.

The Mending Woman...I Owe Her So Much...

She Mends What Is Broken With Her Gentle Touch...

I Wish We Could See What Through Her Eyes She's Seeing...

We Could All Learn So Much From This Beautiful Being.

The Mending Woman's Name...Is (Of Course) Frances,

And She Mends Our Lives With Her Second Chances,

She Mended My Heart When All Others Did Fail,

She Filled Me With Hope Through That Darkest Travail,

And That Hope Still Lingers And In Me It Dances...

For All That You've Done...I Now Thank You Frances -

For You Were My Parent More Than Anyone Other...

And You Honestly Are: The Grandest Grandmother.

© SEPTEMBER 19, 1999 By Jason Wright

-FOR FRANCES JOY MURRAY PHILLIPS-

MY GRANDMOTHER AND FRIEND --- WHO LOVES

ME WITHOUT JUDGEMENT, PREJUDICE, OR HOLY

AGENDA. I LOVE YOU WITH EQUAL PASSION

AND I AM INDEBTED TO YOU ALWAYS.