Easter bunnies, pretty new dresses,
Little girls with bonnets and tresses.
Boys decked out in a suit and tie.
Looking like they were about to cry.
Easter lilies stood proud and tall,
At sunrise services we’d hear the call.
That’s how it was in my childhood days.
I now look at Easter in different ways.
To me it’s the promise of eternal life,
One that is free from turmoil and strife.
Mom will be free of the chains that bind,
And shadows that darken her once sharp mind.
She loved her God with all of her heart,
This terrible illness won’t keep them apart.
This life she lives now is her darkest of nights,
Before she enters that wonderful light.
The Promise of Easter is what I hold dear.
That’s when God wipes away her tears.

Copyright © 1999 Jerry Ham
Used with permission of the author.

Jerry and his wife are both nurses and they
are a team in taking care of his mother who
who has Alzheimer's. Jerry frequently shares
his poetry on the Alzheimer list, bringing tears
to all our eyes. Jerry's first book of poetry,
This Stranger in Out House has recently
been published and is available from the Inland
Northwest Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association,
720 W. Boone Ave., Suite 101, Spokane, WA 99201
Email Jerry at: wordman@asaccess.com