As the daughter gazes at her mother

The wrinkles dissolve,

Hair becomes carefree brown,

Work weary bones knit into healthy ones.

Fragility melds into agile strength

As film of gleeful days roll through her mind.

Mom gently kissing the hurt of red scraped knees,

Kindly wiping away the tears of the first broken heart,

Waving a tearful cheerful goodbye to her coed girl,

Beaming with brimful eyes at the sound of "I do",

Proudfully brandishing pictures of grandchildren,

Stoutly, quietly assisting others ....

The gauzy construction of the past unravels

With the squeaky tread of the nurse's shoes.

The tapestry of memories fade as

The daughter dutifully wipes her mother's moist brow

Hastily sliding past unknowing eyes,

Dimly acknowledging the earthworn body.

Wiping away her own tears of what was

Trying to accept what is.

Joanna Ballard - March 19, 1991