Jennifer D. Haynes, my sister, was born on December 25, 1953. She died at the age of 14 on September 7, 1968, a victim of Cystic Fibrosis. I was almost 13 years old at the time of her death. Her remains are buried on Old Mill Road at Swan Point Cemetery on the East Side of Providence, Rhode Island.
I visited her grave last November late in the day. It was a very moving experience, something that has haunted me since (or at least it has stuck in my mind).
A few night's back I awoke from a dream and for the first time in my life wrote a poem, spontaneously.
ON OLD MILL ROAD
Cool November shadow creeps
Across hushed grounds where family sleeps;
Remnants of this dying day,
Whispers the pending black night’s stay.
Behind the shroud of fleeting light
Lurks old sorrow and newfound fright
On Old Mill Road
Twilight here departs too soon,
Enveloped by the graveyard gloom.
Granite markers ten thousand strong,
Remind me I will soon belong.
Restless winds toss dying leaves
O’er ancestral stones few stop to see
On Old Mill Road.
Your soul, dear sister, is not found here—
That much I know, I do not fear.
Forever young, with joyful heart
You left too soon, but made your mark.
The dark shadows of troubled night
Will never dim your sparkling light
On Old Mill Road.
No shadow hides eternal truth,
Your legacy is lasting proof.
On Old Mill Road you make this so:
Throughout the years you’ve helped love grow.
Love was, and is, forevermore.
That much I know, of that much I’m sure
On Old Mill Road
Copyrighted Material February 2011