The tears are flowing freely
At the memories flooding my emotions
Remebering my mother, translucent, too
Christmas saying she just wanted a new body
By mid-January gone, when we were all of us away But, her nature to want to spare us the last moments
She never liked to see her children sad
Many times since, I pick up the phone to tell Mom
Slowly cradle it on the hook, wondering who else, but
Knowing there's only one Mom, shairng with others not the same

Pussywillows a part of our spring ritual, a token of our esteem for her and the promise they bring
Brought home to my house this year, near my kitchen sink
Their soft brush of downy fur feels like her loving caress
Sometimes, I see them stir, perhaps she has felt them, too.

Thank you, Penny, Don, and everyone else. PennyS, I will get a message out to you. I've not forgotten. I am sorry it's taken so long. You did a beautiful and eloquent job.

Love,

katlaughing, feeling like half an orphan