I lost my mother in 1994. Memories of her still abound in my mind. She gave me strength and courage throughout my life. I have a brother and sister, and she raised the three of us even though her life was sometimes difficult.

There were times when we went through rough and stormy seas, but we always seemed to make our way safely. Her life was not an easy one but she did the best she could. We had our differences, both big and small, with which we had to contend.

The following poem is for those of us who have lost our mothers:


This Mother's Day without you strains belief
In life and love and what it means to be,
But there is beauty in my lonely grief.

Your death is like a wound without relief,
Pain on pain as far as I can see,
And so this day without you strains belief.

What's the point of living when a thief
Can break into your heart so easily?
But there is beauty in my lonely grief.

You fell away from me, a withered leaf
Twisting down to darkness, leaving me
This day without you, chilling my belief.

And yet there's beauty in this burning brief
Bright burst of light that ends in agony,
Beauty in the cause of lonely grief,

The love I have for you, a jewel-like reef
In silent prayer beneath my empty sea.
This Mother's Day without you strains belief,
But there is beauty in my lonely grief.