A Carafe of Wine
She was the hub of Christmas time but
when she got sick, the world they knew fell apart
The empty freezer hummed void of cookies and tarts,
as the old tree lay in the shed undecorated and bare.
In the lobby the doctor gathered her offspring and gave
them the sad news. "Your mom has cancer. She
only has a few weeks to live."
Dust to dust, soon she would be free
her last words,
"Don't forget to decorate the tree"
Tears were kept in check hands were linked
and souls regrouped. Only one broke the silence with
a verbal vow. "We are going to remember her, simply"
On the first Christmas without her they gathered
by the old oak table with a carafe of white wine
and a home made apple pie to die for. Ida who
had been nicknamed Idaho Potato peeled the
plastic wrap off the pie just like mom would do*
It was Christmas, mother had taught them
about wine reduction winks and Xmas slips
There in the center of the table was a puny tree
holding up a Victorian ornament. The one mom
had inherited from her mother, back in 1952;
No throngs of gifts this year
only her voice humming in their sternums
keep it simple girls, keep it simple.
The End.
Dec. 18, 2018
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