When The Saints Played For You”

I was your baby girl from the very start

The little shadow hanging on your arm

You were six-foot-something, bigger than life

A preacher man teaching wrong from right

Down in New Orleans where the river rolled slow

You stood behind that pulpit and let your faith show

You didn’t just preach, you lived every word

The strongest kind of love this world ever heard

I still see Mardi Gras through a little girl’s eyes

Sitting on your shoulders beneath those lights

Brass bands playing through crowded streets

While your big hands made the whole world safe for me

And every Sunday morning church bells rang

The saints sang loud while the choir swayed

You’d smile at me from across the room

And somehow every fear disappeared too

Oh Poppy, I still miss you every day

Some wounds never really fade away

And I’d give anything just to hear your voice

Call me “baby girl” one more time

Because no matter how many years go by

You’re still the hero of my life

And heaven may have taken you from me

But it couldn’t take you from my heart

The first time you came back I couldn’t believe

It felt more real than any dream

I was sitting in an old F-150 truck

Fog wrapped around us like heaven showed up

Then I looked up through that silver haze

And there you were smiling the same old way

Not a word spoken, you didn’t need to say a thing

Because your eyes told me everything

I woke up crying before the morning sun

Missing you harder than I’d ever done

Then another night God opened the door

And brought you back to me once more

Standing right in front of me dressed in white

Looking stronger than I’d seen in life

A suit pressed sharp, heaven in your eyes

Massive white wings stretching through the sky

And in that deep voice I knew so well

You said, “Baby girl, you’re doing well.”

You said, “I love you.”

You said, “I’m proud.”

And Lord, I still hear those words right now

I woke up crying before daylight came

Reaching for someone I couldn’t hold again

I can’t hear “When the Saints Go Marching In”

Without falling apart again

Because Louis Armstrong starts to sing

And suddenly I’m standing by your grave again

Flowers shaking in my trembling hands

Trying to understand God’s plans

Everybody said you were finally home

But home felt empty when you were gone

Oh Poppy, I still miss you every day

And I don’t think that feeling fades away

But when the fog rolls in or the nights get long

I know somehow you’re still holding on

Still watching over Mama and me

Still guarding this family

And when my own journey finally ends

I’ll hear those New Orleans horns again

And I’ll see you smiling through heaven’s light

With those wings spread open wide

And before I run into your arms

I’ll hear that deep voice one more time

“Baby girl…

I’ve always loved you.

And I’ve always been proud of you.”

Trumpet fades… piano softly plays…

When the Saints Go Marching In…

And somewhere in heaven, Poppy sings along.