Words from the Graveyard My Mother died a few months ago, on September 7th. Today is her birthday, and I’ve really been missing her all day. I loved her so much. After a full day of work, I decided to go for a bike ride early this evening. I grabbed my iPod, put on my headsets and set off down the road. Two songs into the shuffle, there was Sinead O’Connor singing “Three Babies.” Oh my word! It was like Mama talking to her three babies. I can’t remember the last time I heard that song. Truly ... what are the odds it would show-up in the shuffle today? Although I’m sure Mama never heard it herself, Sinead’s love words - except for a few lines which absolutely don’t fit - could have come from our Mum. I felt like she was talking to the three of us from beyond the grave: Three Babies Each of these My three babies I will carry with me For myself I ask no one else will be Mother to these three And of course Im like a wild horse But theres no other way I could be Water and feed Are not tools that I need For the thing that Ive chosen to be In my soul My blood and my bones I have wrapped your cold bodies ‘round me The face on you The smell of you Will always be with me Each of these My three babies I was not willing to leave Though I tried I blasphemed and denied I know they will be returned to me Each of these My babies Have brought you closer to me No longer mad like a horse Im still wild but not lost From the thing that Ive chosen to be And its ‘cause youve thrilled me Silenced me Stilled me Proved things I never believed The face on you The smell of you Will always be with me Each of these My three babies I will carry with me For myself I ask no one else will be Mother to these three Years after she first recorded this now-famous song, Sinead sang it again. It packs a wallop and today, for me, it produced a flood of tears. Have a listen. https://youtube/watch?v=c1TMPmRxtuM
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 00:18:56 +0000