Dear Mom

Dear mom, if you knew how much I admired The strength and endurance your hard life required. I know you felt guilty for sins of the past And the shadows some choices you made may have cast. Instead all I see is a woman who labored To beat all the odds not stacked in her favor. I remember the mother before daddy died Who believed in herself and had well-deserved pride. But twenty-eight is too young to be left all alone With three kids, a house, and no job of your own. The man that you married was evil inside Did you know when he beat you I heard and I cried? I understand why you got lost in your booze The divorce was actually a bit of good news. Although you were drunk every day I recall You somehow still fed and clothed one and all. Your drinking destroyed my sweet mother, not her will Cuz that strong, prideful woman was trapped in there still. When I had my first child, you didn't come by Then I heard you were told one more drink and you'd die. And you stopped just like that. And slowly but sure My mother came back, and then even more. A grandmother I wasn't ashamed for my girls To spend their time with, mesmerized by your pearls. For fifteen years sober, til one day you passed Away from the pain and with daddy at last. I'm so proud of your strength in beating that sore But knowing you sober made me miss you more. I'm told all the time that I look just like you If I have half your strength, anything I can do! April 22, 2016