THE SILVER LINING WITHIN THE CLOUDS

I am a woman of 65 years –

I have lived a life of regret and tears;

I spend my days in a 'dream-like' state –

Wondering about 'what if's', and 'what's gone to waste.'

My first memory is as a child of four –

That was when my father departed this world;

I cannot express how much that grieved me –

I never wanted him to leave me.

Then I and my mother were all I had –

We worked the horses and toiled the land;

For many years we stood side by side –

Through illness, hardship and strife.

My mother despaired about my future –

All through my 20's she watched me struggle and suffer;

In the battle of love and desire –

My luck in this area of life was terribly dire.

In my thirties I became married –

To a man that my mother had chosen;

Althouh he had seemed like my perfect crutch –

The man was a brute and he hurt me so much.

I have been loyal to him through all of the years –

My children have my love and they are my blessings;

They have been the strength that I needed –

In times of trouble and warnings not heeded.

So although I worry and despair –

About times lost and times of woe;

I also remember the 'silver lining' –

That is within every cloud, shining.