The Scent of Water

In the Christmas Freeze of 1983 Mama thought she lost her Oleander tree Some called it a “bush,” but at 14 feet tall Its shadow cast wide on her home’s southern wall How she mourned the loss of this beloved plant She begged the Lord for any blessing He’d grant The freeze ended soon, though her tree appeared dead The scent of water each day clung to its bed On January twenty-fourth, the call came Dad said mom entered God’s heavenly domain A neighbor had found her, lying in the yard Next to remnants of a plant she’d not discard In May a miracle appeared to occur The strong plant revived, as if waiting for her *True occurrence based on my mother’s death, January 24, 1984. Poem written July 12, 2014