Sendin' Up Timber
Renee Matthews-Jackson © 1983
There's a mansion built in heaven,
And it's up there just for me.
There's a mansion built in heaven,
That I'll soon be goin' to see.
A big, bright, beautiful mansion
Way beyond the sky.
All this earthly body has to do
Is quietly lie down to die.
Death, I fear you not,
For you are no threat at all!
My mansion stands in wait for me,
And it's standin' straight and tall.
My Lord ascended the clouds
And He went away.
Oh, He'll be coming back some day!
Don't take common sense for me to see,
That where He's gon, I'll someday go.
'Cause for years and years,
As long as I can remember...
Honey, I've been sendin' up timber!
Author's Notes:
This poem was written for my Grandmother, Ida B. Malcom.
Grandmother used to tell us that she did not own a home
here on Earth because she had been "sendin' up timber"
since her mother died when she was thirteen. She said
that it was more important to prepare for her pass-over,
and make sure that her mansion would be built in heaven.
I wrote this poem for her in 1983. I read it to her one evening,
and she asked me to read it at her homegoing. I was too
grief stricken to read the poem ,and it was read by my
play brother, Rev. Dr. Larry Macon, Ph.D. I know where she
resides, and also know that someday I will sit with her in
her heavenly mansion.
