When I cannot recall your face or name,
Come visit me.
Sit close and paint my memories
with your words.
When my joints are gnarled and useless,
Hold my hand.
Warm my tangled fingers between your
praying palms.
When my bones ache and my body fails,
Take me to the ocean.
Let me face the falling tide and breathe in
sea’s last light.
When my words are gone and evening falls,
Sing me Shenandoah.
Hold me close and let the last notes ring, long after
I am sleeping.
In memory of my mother, Clella Mae [October 1926 – January 2020]
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