You
were my first love
Gone
when I was thirteen
On
May Day, your day.
Your
smiling face and the
Warble
in your gentle voice
Still
ring in my memory.
Those
thick glasses
With
brittle-seeming wire frames.
My
little hand in yours.
Flowers
in the many beds of your garden,
Silver
dollar plants and orange lanterns
Beside
and on the front porch.
Morning
Glories climbing the twine and up the back
Of
the house, below your kitchen window
Drenched
in sunlight.
Violets
in the dining room
Fragrance
and beautiful color and form;
An
April violet for me.
Sights
and smells of your small enameled kitchen
The
flour sifter and kitchen scale
From
your father’s bakery on the cabinet
Encrusted
with decades of flour and love
Cookies
made for family and shut-ins.
The
Cookie Lady article yellowed and on the wall
Below
the kitchen clock;
How
proud I was to hear the story
How
happy I was to taste the confections myself. . .
Especially
at Christmas-time
Saturday
night beans and brown bread
At
the dining room table
Formal
but familial
Staying
over with you and Grampa
Sharing
Ritz crackers and milk
The
wonder of my father’s room
As
you showed me the pulley system
He
created over his bed
To
turn on and off the light suspended from the
Ceiling
in the middle of the room.
Bellows
by the fireplace
The
thick carpet on the stairs
The
landings for the toy soldiers
And
other creatures we played with
The
mystery of the second floor porch and the stairs
To
the attic above
The
clawed feet of the bathtub
The
family pictures on your bureau
The
warmth of your love.
How
proud I was to be one of your pallbearers
The
first and greatest loved one I ever lost.
Back
ramrod straight as I sat in my chair
Waiting
for the cue to walk beside you one last time
Hearing
the loving words from the pulpit
From
your minister, your friend.
A
moment of peace, of knowing you were loved
And
you were with the Lord already.
How
I hated Him for taking you
So
mad to lose you just as I wanted to know you more
Just
as I could have been more
Clumsily,
finding my way without you still.
oh,
Cookie Lady I miss you.
May 12, 2013
Edited for Mother’s Day worship service
“Jessie – v2”
“Jessie”
written 5/2/2001, posted to blog 2/12/2004
&
Pastor Ruth
Foss
A Handmaiden of the Lord
Suncook United Methodist Church
Suncook, NH
May 12, 2013
Mother’s Day
All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A.
Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011,
2012, 2013. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage.
See all 23,410+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com
Poetry Where You Live.
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