Such mixed emotions flood my head
this day that one last curtain fell,
at last the matriarch is dead
now gone to burn where demons dwell.

How might I grieve this passing light
who let her children’s souls be fed
to lions prowling in the night
whilst she lay sleeping safe in bed.

Lucky are those you ploughed into
the safe, warm soil that shields their frames,
where broken bodies journeyed through
a landscaped place in lines of names.

This life your loathing taught to me
was born of hatred and dismay,
yet through that long frayed veil I see
why I should force no tears this day.

Neil Graham Marsden

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/death-of-the-matriarch/