Lois Spears speaks from the grave as a wife, mother, and housekeeper, listing her family before revealing, almost in passing, that she was born blind. Her children have “clear eyes and sound limbs,” but she feels no bitterness about her own darkness. Instead, she describes herself as “the happiest of women,” fulfilled by caring for her loved ones and making her home orderly and welcoming. She moved through rooms and garden with an instinct so sure it seemed her fingertips could see. The mood is calm, proud, and reverent. Her blindness is not presented as a tragedy but as a fact within a full and loving life. The closing line, “Glory to God in the highest,” sounds like a quiet hymn of gratitude for the joy she found in ordinary domestic work.
Lois Spears — Summary
Here lies the body of Lois Spears, Born Lois Fluke, daughter of Willard Fluke, Wife of Cyrus Spears, Mother of Myrtle and Virgil Spears, Children with clear eyes and sound limbs— (I was born blind) I was the happiest of women As wife, mother and housekeeper. Caring for my loved ones, And making my home A place of order and bounteous hospitality: For I went about the rooms, And about the garden With an instinct as sure as sight, As though there were eyes in my finger tips— Glory to God in the highest.