Now and Forever Bouquet
And as I sit,
Fingers dancing about the keys
Trying to weave from chaos
A harmonious truth
I attempt to make peace
With what soon I’ll peruse.
Bathed in tearful joy sculpted
By a muse on the run,
This quiet corner shielded
From the sweltering summer sun
Begs to listen.
Right on cue
No longer in the periphery
My son glides into view
Our sweet exchange fading
Into his tomorrow-dream
And the now I fondly choose.
Stitching erratic memories
Into a time-capsuled play
I promise to purchase tickets
Attend for all my days.
A mother effortlessly adjusts
To the gift of boundless love
And yet we fail to brace ourselves
For time’s imminent crush.
Heartstrings now entangled
In feelings which disembogue
A vain bid to wash over
This mother’s endless love.
But, darling, I embrace you
As life lures you away
For you and your journey
Are my now and forever bouquets.
Mexico, 2005
Daddy’s shoes, 2007
New York, 2010
Morocco, 2011
College arrival, 2020
After the Euro Cup, 2021
In August of last year I wrote my favorite poem “Kissless Tomorrow” inspired by my son’s college bound wings. I never shared it hoping to give it another literary home. Today, however, in a poetic corner pondering my next write, my son passed by to borrow something from the closet reminding me of days gone by when he played with my husband’s shoes. Memories and words began to flow in equal measure. And after clicking the last word, again on cue, he came by in route to his summer job: “Bye mom, I love you.”