FAREWELL GRANDMA MARTINA

Tell Her.

Tell ‘M’, ‘EM’, MY GRANDMA that I remember.

I smiled.
Yes I smiled again when mummy repeated the news 15 minutes later.
“‘M has died’ ” she had said the first time I picked up the phone.
Only this time she was consoling me with our favourite jokes about ‘M’

15 minutes, yes 15 minutes that’s what it took for me

As I remembered her, time and again:
Her touch, her smile,

Her softly spoken words,

Her kindness, her passion for life,

Her faithful courage.

I remembered soft and gentle hands,

Reaching out to dry my tears;

I remembered warm and loving arms,

That chased away my fears.

I remembered Someone that I could run to,

Who always made sure she was there;

An ear that would patiently listen,

Someone who always cared.

There's something rare and wonderful

God placed in a Grandmother's heart;

Something he knew a child would need

Right from the very start. Ask those who knew her.

I know. I believe. Heaven has a place reserved for her.

God has taken her from me to care for her now timelessly.
But I had a little Heaven on earth
In the Grandmother I called mine.
The love that was swollen to burst inside of me for her.

She goes on. She breathes inside me.

For every time I will grow desperately lonely

And long to hold her in my arms

My beloved Martina,

I will only have to glance up

To know she is with me,

My ascending angel “M”

I remembered all the things she used to do,

sitting for hours telling me tales about her brother- grandpa ngwang,
How they loved each other,
How they survived the odds.
She taught me right from wrong

and so very much more.

When I realise how much I miss her,
Thinking about her makes me sad

but she warned me against being sad.

She was my inspiration, my key,

As much as I loved her,

I never did confess although I know that she knew.
Her story will always live on, in my heart, body and mind,

she'll always last, and for that I am sure.
For as much as I try to talk of her life,

my feelings for her are locked up inside me.

I remembered when she would sing a song,

when she would encourage me to sing along

and she would sit and rock with her rosary.

I can still see it as she held it in her hands

well worn from all the rubbing while she prayed for us.
I remembered that she wouldn’t worry about me

because she taught me all so well Years ago upon her knee.
And that wisdom lives in me.

Tell my dearest grandma;

that her time on earth seemed all too brief

because I wanted her in my life forever.

And although I really miss her, in my heart I know that she is at peace.

Still, countless times throughout my life

I will find myself needing her.
Tell her that

although I cannot see or hear her,

I know that she is with me.
Tell her that

I'll feel and need her in the warmth of the summer sun.

I'll see and sense her in the brilliance of autumn leaves.

She'll be beside me in the peacefulness of a gentle snowfall

She'll rejoice with me at the emergence of the first flowers of spring.

Tell her that

I'm thankful for the times we shared

and the priceless memories too;

for those memories are my strength and comfort now

when I lovingly – remember HER.

Please tell her for me. Thank you