"Owed" to my Mother!
Mother’s Day, 2010
Thank you!
You birthed me.
It was a lot for you to do –
It meant a lot to me, too!
Thank you, for binding up my booboos,
Healing up my hurts.
All those free hugs and kisses,
and wiping off the dirt!
In splashy bubble baths,
playing with my toys,
lazy afternoons spent out of doors.
You held my hand when I was scared
you sat through school plays and you dared
that wet sponge ace
at my circus party, to aim straight
at dad, who got dunked in place!
Oh, we laughed til we split over his surprise
That some little kid could put him over the side!
You let me climb tall trees
play in the fields
dress up my dolls
make my room into – anything at all …
I remember, I remember –
I was born in September,
beautiful last month of summer,
with bell-clear warm and balmy weather
You Virgo-ed me, mothered me, sang to me
blessed me,
Thank you.
You made me coats and jackets
knitted my my favorite hat – it
became too small
as I became so big and tall.
Stand up straight, you said!
Keep your shoulders back, chin up!
getting me ready to be grown up.
Thanks, for taking such good care of me
For watching out and being ware for me –
for trepidaciously letting me go
when I took off and left fast and sudden so –
Your heart must have pounded
not knowing which fears were ungrounded,
Whether I would fly or fall,
or ever even get there at all.
Thanks for all the prayers you sent;
they left a trail for my ascent
so when I look back now at bumps and falls
none of them seems to have taken their toll.
You love smoothed out the way when I didn’t know it at all!
Thanks for taking such good care of me!
I remember, I remember now, you see.
I remember, you and me.
Places:
Watching places disappear,
your plants are gone
they are not here
The clutter of your life is cleared
as softly, gently you release
and trust another for your care
parts of your cupboard have gone bare
He gently removes,
simplifies
what is there.
Yet every time I visit
Your home has one less you
The magazines no longer crowd
invitingly on table tops
The furniture’s moved
the books are gathered
everything is "tidied up"
And slowly I perceive how much
you filled your space, expressed yourself
in myriad minuscule ways.
Impacting on my universe, your personality replays
in thousands of tiny unknowns,
filtering through my days.
No wonder we were comfortable in each other’s lives
intertwined like ivy, roots dug deep-the same
I miss your place
your personality’s space…..
Expressed around you now
we feebly build our tribute.
Hedging you about
with comforting objects
to recreate
the memories we’ve lost
and keep you painted with
the colors
we hold and cherish most.