This year alone, I attended five funerals. All of them were for family members: an uncle, age 62; an aunt, age 57; a brother-in-law, age 54; and two cousins-in-law, ages 54 and 45. Their deaths resulted from heart attacks, stroke, drowning, and one, allegedly, natural causes in the bathroom of a greyhound bus. The reactions I noticed expressed consistently by the bereaved, other than surprise, is regret. When loved ones pass away, people wish they had the opportunity to have said and done more. Hence, I was inspired to compose the following poem, “By Surprise”:
Have you ever thought about how you will be remembered when you die? As I get older, I do more often. I wonder if people will think well or ill of me. Of course, I want to be thought of favorably. I have heard the saying, "live your life so you will be missed." To me, that means leaving a positive, lasting impression.
Over the past several months, I lost two family members that were dear to me--my cousin-in-law and my brother-in-law. Coincidently, they both were age 54, so their passings were sudden and unexpected. My cousin-in-law suffered a heart attack, and my brother-in-law drowned. Their leaving here seemed tragic and untimely. However, God knows what is best.
Both of my in-laws were people everyone seemed to love. My sister-in-law was the type of woman who would say, "girl, you're so anointed" instead of "girl, you're so crazy. My brother-in-law was the church version of Bernie Mac. Consequently, both homegoing services drew a crowd, especially my brother-in-law's, which had standing room only. Below is the poem, "I Shall Remember You, which I read at his funeral.
I Shall Remember
© 2011 Sylvia L. Green-Chatman
In memory of Leroy Chatman, 1957-2011
I shall remember the brotherly smiles,
Carrying me across hundreds of miles.
I enjoyed you driving for our church trips.
You brought entertainment and fellowship.
I shall remember hysterical laughs,
Quickly removing sadness from my path.
When I called for lightness to restore me,
You stayed timely with a funny story.
The Church of the Living God USA's General Overseer, Bishop Jerry W. Wilhite, visited our church Saturday and read one of my poems posted on the bulletin board. Amazed at the poem's craftsmanship, he asked if I had really written it. I replied, "yes." Saying that I "hit it on the nail" portraying the brother whom the poem was about, he requested a copy. I happened to have a few sheets in a binder, so I handed him one. He said that he was going to purchase a "nice" frame and display it at his local church in Monroe, Louisiana. He stated that all of the churches in the brotherhood should also obtain a copy. The poem, entitled "Bright Fame," is a tribute to our late National Finance Committee Chairman, Elder Robert Knighten. God inspired me to write the piece a couple days after his funeral on his birthday at 4 o' clock in the morning three years ago. Here is the poem, "Bright Fame," below:
Bright Fame
© 2008 Sylvia L. Green Chatman
In Loving Memory Of Elder Robert L. Knighten
April 24, 1948 - April 11, 2008
He was a man loved by many.
Enemies–could one find any?
A friend he proved to all he knew.
He was genuine–yes, it’s true.
A preacher who meant what he said,
To speak out, he was unafraid.
He would tell you if you were wrong,
Yet still knew how to get along...
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