Mom

Mom at 27
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 ~ MOM at 93 ~
Sitting in her wheelchair in her small half of the room

lovely in her soft trim blouse and fresh hair do

thanks to daughter Angie’s care

Looking out her window at the feeder Ange keeps filled

at the small garden space with benches buried deep
in snow - and of course the hungry birds

 -

A book lover, she can't read much anymore

does not read even large print books

yet reads her tiny watch with ease

Do the lines dance together?

Is it that she can't put meaning to the words?

she can when we talk it seems

Mom has difficulty remembering her children's names

she thanks me for explaining them

from photos in her room

One afternoon I returned visiting with her in the morning

Mom asked, "Did you just get in? Is John with you?"

I flew alone this time and had explained

Later I looked at some photos on her desk

Mom asked me what they were saying

I told her I wasn’t talking to anyone

“I know,” she said

“I thought the girls in the picture

were talking to you.”

Mom reads the snow covered shrubs, benches and other
garden mounds the way she showed us animals
in clouds when we were small

"Looks just like a deer

turning its head to glance at me," she smiles

She knows it's not a deer.

-JoMae
Written in 2003