In the Memory of...

Every car drove by
Slowly
To the last good bye
For the woman
Whose symbol of life
Would be the peach
Colored roses on
Her simple box
And wearing dresses
Of black, white, brown
And blue
The women of the clan
Cried and passed
Along their embraces
To brothers and sisters
Family and friends
Sharing memories
Of a tall elegant
Younger mother
With a fierce talent
And a sharp mind
And a cutting tongue
If you crossed
her righteous path
Invoking the wrath
Over felt breaches of
Her deeply committed
Values, beliefs and
Personally designed
convictions

At the ceremony's end
When they couldn't laugh anymore
About childhood memories
When the last photo of togetherness
Had been shot and labeled
When the last tissue
Had been soaked
With the waters of grief
Adequate for one day
Pitifully small for
A lifetime of remembrance
Their eyes were drawn
To the star-studded sky
And the spelling
In it of her
Light-filled name
And in a dreamy gaze
They journeyed home
To be tucked in bed
By a Mother's distant love
Blanketed with
Sorrow
Tears
And their rekindled
Love for each other.

Summer 1998