Messages From The Other Side

Messages From The Other Side

Mum has always been a bit "fey" - she gets feelings about things, and tries to interpret them - not always correctly!  I am also not averse to listening to a "still small voice," which I trust will guide me wisely and safely through difficult times.

Since she has has lived at home with us, there have been occasions when she is convinced there are - or have been - other people in the room,  when we know no-one else has been in.  It often happens during the day, when she is awake, sitting in the chair and reading a paper, and she will announce, "My Mother's here."  We gently remind Mum that, although her Mother's - my Grandma's - spirit may well have been near her, her Mother died in 1985; she is buried in Liverpool;.

Sometimes Mum accepts a simple explanation; at other times, she is adamant she has seen her Mother, and has talked to her.  On other occasions, she says, "Oh, well, it was my other mother!"

Mum only had my Grandma as her mother, but it may be she gets confused with her Mother's childhood.  My Great-grandfather was married to a lady called Elizabeth Fraser; they had three girls - Maud, born in 1891, Alice (my Grandma) born in 1893, and Win, born in1896.  Sadly, after ten years of marriage, Elizabeth Fraser died, and a year later, my Great-grandfather  married Jessie Stephenson.  So in one way, my Grandma did indeed have two mothers; and by all accounts, her step-mother was not the kindest of women.

Sometimes Mum also has dreams which can be distressing; if I can hear she is in the middle of a night terror, I will go to her, and stay until she calms down and is happy to get back to sleep again.

This inspired the following poem:

Messages From The Other Side

My mother hears voices
Of people long gone
They whisper in her ear
Things that have passed
Or are yet to come

Strange people swirl
In the rooms of her mind
As fearful thoughts
Filled with menace
Take hold and grip

Until gentle words lead her
To a kinder pace
Where benign visitors combine
To sooth and calm
She trusts them to keep her safe

They tell of lottery numbers
And how "the big one"
Will come up and be hers
It brings her joy
And she lives in constant hope