Mae Rowland and the 23rd Psalm - Doug von Koss

[Lawrence Robinson]

Mae Rowland and the 23rd Psalm 			

“The lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
The words she wants at her funeral
The words she wants to hear now from the blue
Gideon Bible I hold in my hands

“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.”
She hears them as a child might hear a bedtime story
The words, images of old comforts, fall upon her failing body

“He leadeth me beside still waters.”
The words warm her like the old patchwork quilt
her mother stitched for her on the South Dakota ranch

“He restoreth my soul:”
The words calm her as they once did me
as I myself heard them from my mother
on a cold winter night in Iowa

“He guideth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”
The words wrap around her bruised and discolored hand
as the old hymn, Guide Me Oh Thou Great Jehovah
hums through my mind 
She is ready for her guide to come
Oh, we both need a guide right now

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death”
The words almost catch in my throat
as she smiles with her eyes closed
The dried skin on her forehead, lifting like snowflakes
crinkles as her smile fades to peace



-1-


“I will fear no evil; for thou art with me;
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.”
I want to say, “Dear God she is ready now!
She’s not afraid!”

Helpless, I watch her chest move, a frail bird
beneath the faded blue hospital gown

“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence 
of mine enemies:
Thou hast anointed my head with oil; My cup runneth over.”
May the table be set on a summer day in the lush green
of her beloved Black Hills  
May the cups fill with the sweet water of her friendships
May angels set the table soon
on this icy Wisconsin day

“Surely goodness and loving kindness shall follow me 
all the days of my life:”
Oh Mae, they did, they did

“And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

Oh Mae, may it be so.  May it be so.

		- Doug von Koss   
				   Upon the death bed of my mother-in law
                                        Mae Twiford Rowland on March 12, 1996