MOTHER

Geraniums and marigolds
filled up her yard each year,
and every time I see them
I still want to weep a tear
for the Mother who has left us,
who was patient, sweet and kind -
who changed the lives of all of us
by leaving us behind......
All the flowers of the garden,
with the coming of the Spring
remind me that a flower’s birth
was Mother’s way to sing.
Each Spring would find her planting
and waiting for the birth
of the seedlings she had nurtured
so gently in the earth.
There is nothing I will ever find
to take my Mother’s place -
but I still see her kindly smile
in every garden place.

©Christina Sharik
Spring 1985