July 13, 2019
my mom had a beautiful heart
it was broken by alcoholic parents
and a divorce
her real father abandon without a word
went out for cigarettes
her husband was gone with nearly the same indifference and disrespect
she was a stubborn only child
quite a splash in her hometown back in the day, with lots of suitors
a strong swimmer, athletic,
filled hard determination and fearless i suppose
she retreated to bloomington because she had a friend there
who turned out not to be a friend
with no family except the scraggle kids who were equally confused
alone most of the time,
she never recovered and it broke my heart
i guess maybe i never recovered either
tonight i'm missing her
missing her easy laugh
and impeccable memory
she made beautiful stocking caps and sold them in her joyous way
so glad she didn't die alone
with my sister and brother by her side
she went quick
i was delayed
she was getting better maybe
but that night, life decided she would only get 62 years
sometimes i wish i'd hadn't moved so far away
maybe she would have been stronger
but you can never know





Gene Haynes