Family Poetry
In Memory Of Iris Marie McVicar
Oct 6, 1976

The passage of time does little
To soothe the emptiness left inside
That arrived the day you left
To the place it would reside

The memories of so few years together
Are left embedded on my mind
God choose to take you home that day
And leave us all behind

The years at first passed slowly
That sometimes happens when we are small
Now they pass by quickly
Yet the loss....not passed at all

Grandchildren have been born
Graduations & weddings went on
But you were still remembered
In every loving song

I've always felt you with me
Standing by my side
Your spirit strong, unwavering
In the place where it resides

Always Loved, Always Missed, Always Remembered
~ Kristal


Til We Meet Again One Day
----------------------------------

One more year has slipped away
Into time's abyss
One more year has passed on by
Time with you we've missed

Not so many left behind
The day you left this earth
Numbers now have multiplied
With each new family members birth

We've kept your spirit living
With our tales from years ago
Babies you never got to hold
We've made sure they all know

Don't think we have forgotten
You're a part of them as well
We've often gathered them together
To hear the stories we love to tell

This year we all did gather
Back to the home you left behind
You would have felt so proud to see
We were loving warm and kind

In groups & sometimes one on one
We shared our stories of the past
Your spirit alive within us all
But how the years go by so fast

Through memories you will always be
Among us everyday
Rest peaceful in death's slumber
Til we meet again one day

Always Loved, Always Missed, Always Remembered,
Kristal

My Mother's Kitchen
----------------------------

In Memory Of Iris Marie McVicar

I'm not sure when I started
At two or three or four
To drag my favorite wooden chair
Across the kitchen floor

Determined in the task at hand
I could sense my mother's grin
As I pushed & pulled that wooden chair
Til it stopped and we;d begin

Donning a tiny apron she had sewn
With loving hands & care
So I would feel "A big girl"
While working with her there

She shared her knowledge of her art
I learned to bake & cook
But the memories we created there
Could surely fill a book

We talked & laughed throughout the days
As we added, stirred & measured
Life lessons I had come to learnm
In my heart will most be treasured

My Mother's Kitchen closed one day
Abruptly without notice
Leaving me to try her art
Though I was still a young apprentice

Though gone her memory lingered on
So did her knowledge and her skill
That kitchen never quite the same
Her apron.....hanging still

Kristal McVicar ©2008

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Anonymous Guest post 15-May-03 11:37 AM

I wrote a poem years ago about the McVicar Christmas experience and, until seeing this page, had completely forgotten about it. After hours of searching it has been located and I would like to leave it here. It's sentiment being the basis of my own family's Christmas experience. Iris Marie McVicar was a wonderful lady who worked hard to make Christmas an experience never to be forgotten. Christmas was not a day, it was a season, and that is the name of this poem.

A SEASON
-----------------
Christmas At Our House
Was Filled With So Much More
Than A Christmas Tree Or Presents
Or A Wreath Set On The Door

September Began The Season
There Was Baking to Be Done
Fruitcakes Lined The Cupboards
But The Work had Just Begun

Caught By Surprise, October Was
The Month To Prepare The Pies
Christmas Was Getting Closer
With So Much More To Realize

Christmas Songs began To Echo
Through The Halls In Mid-November
Mom Would Rush To Bake The Cookies
Not Much Time Before December

December Was Simply Magical
The House Took On A Life Of It's Own
Lights Were Hung Inside & Out
Sweet Memories Carved In Stone

Cabbage Rolls & Sausage Rolls
Were The Next Thing Mom Would Do
The House Was Warm & Cozy
It Seemed To Call To You

With Christmas Only Weeks Away
The Girls Would Put Their Aprons On
The Cookies Needed Decorating
This Task Could Take So Long

With Only Days Left To Go
We'd Set Out To Find A Tree
With Careful Consideration
How Perfect It Would Be

What Joy There Was In Decorating
Our Trees Throughout The Years
That Final Touch Of Christmas
Could Fill Your Eyes With Tears

Our Parents Made A Season
A Time To Work Together
Preparing For The Birthday Of Christ
Creating Memories To Last Forever

Christmas At Our House
Was So Much More Than Just A Day
Christmas Was A Season
You Would Wish Somehow Could Stay

In Memory Of Iris Marie McVicar
November 8, 1934-October 6, 1976


His Chair

In Memory Of Gilford McVicar Sr.

I loved my Grampy....really
He was brave & smart & strong
But by the time my memories start
He was suffering from black lung

From aged twelve to sixty-seven see
My Grampy worked the mines
Picking.....shovelling.....moving
That cold black coal along the lines

He had heart attacks a time or two
Strokes another suffered illness
Sick most days...his breathing labored
Chest never finding stillness

On Sundays after church we'd go
To visit Gramps & Gram
Each week he'd ask where was I
"I'm right here Grampy, Here I am"

Slowly I would creep on in
So he could see me there
Then retreat as quickly as I could
Back behind His Chair

I always stood behind His Chair
Close to the door we entered through
So filled was I of fear of death
If he died, what would I do?

I had a plan in place you see
That's why I stood alone
I'd run so far & fast I would
If he fell or gasped or moaned

Wasted hours spent behind His Chair
While the others laughed and talked
The journey past His Chair for me
A journey seldom walked

If I could turn back time I know
I'd venture further in
Hold his hand, look in his eyes
Touch his face, his hair, his skin

Kristal McVicar ©2008



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