Thank You, Mr. Blackmon

Mr. Blackmon was a black man,
He was my mother's age.
He certainly didn't fit into
My mother's view of beige.

They might have never come to be
The friends they could have been.
Worlds apart in flesh tones
And the thoughts aligned with them.

Both were thrown together
By a single twist of fate,
My mom and Mr. Blackmon,
Getting past the binds of hate.

Several times a week they sat
Together for a spell,
Kidney failure was the glue
That bound them in this hell.

They talked and shared, they laughed a bit
This odd friendship built by time.
Moments spent, this unlikely pair
Up life's mountain climbed.

Today would be no different,
Thought my mother on her way
To the clinic for her treatment
Early morning on this day.

She walked inside the familiar room
And sat down in her chair,
But today was sorely different,
Mr. Blackmon wasn't there.

Where was her friend? Where had he gone?
His soft-spoken kindness missed.
He's entered into heaven's gate
Touched by an angel's kiss.

Mom nearly cried, her friend is gone
She'll miss his gentle smile
Which touched her sometimes hidden heart
And softened her gruff style.

Yes, Mr. Blackmon and my mom
Put old patterns to the test
Through trials and tribulations
In each other saw the best.

My mom is softer, gentler now
She opens up her heart.
It's taken such a long, long time
But not too late to start.

I thank you, Mr. Blackmon,
For the kindness that you showed
To my mother and my sister,
So the story's told.

Though I never got to know you
And the friend you were to her
I know the time you shared with Mom
Let old wounds find a cure.

You both were thrown together
By that single twist of fate,
And thank you, Mr. Blackmon,
The lessons weren't too late.

So we'll talk and share, and laugh a bit
Our family healed through time.
Because of your unselfish heart
Up life's mountain we can climb.