Page 37 - In Memoriam

“I love, love, love you,” you sang to me
in your last fragile days,
I love, love, love you, Mom. You left too quietly
careful not to wake your child.
But I will always see you– sketching at the lake’s edge.
on the horizon, phthalo blue, crimson red ignites
your autumn, raw pigment mutes your ocean storm
These were your colors
a lifetime of blended hues...
You have left me a white moon scrubbed across an unfinished canvas.
But one frail hand reaches out from beneath your fleece throw: “You’re a very satisfying daughter.” And inside, I am reaching up
to thank you
for showing me beauty in the broken shell
For all you’ve done for me, for others for who you are,
for gracing me as my mother.
– Sandra Tyler