One's Missing
One chair's missing from the table,
And as you always say,
It's better, Lord, to add a chair
Than to take away.
One candle stands cold and dark.
It cannot be lit.
My heart stays cold and dark,
For I cannot forget.
There's no grave to plant flowers on
And water with my tears.
I call her name in the night
And wonder if she hears.
One's missing from the family,
she just went away.
I stand and wonder where she's at
And live from day to day.
There is an emptiness within my heart
That life can't seem to fill.
As long as one is missing,
Lord, I know I never will.
-- Delphia Coleman Webb,
mother of Lola Katherine Fry