My Mother Poem by Lydia Thacker

The brightness has faded from your eyes
And you have turned to dust
Since last we embraced

Two years since I heard your voice
Saw the smile I grew up seeking
Heard the laugh that made everything alright

God, I miss you
Every day I think of a million things
That I can tell only you

I still find myself wanting to call you
When the world is upside-down
And I feel as though my life is falling apart

At times like these,
I seek comfort in my pictures
Find solace in my memories of you

I write pages of verse and prose
Pondering the realities of day-to-day life
And arguing its meaning with myself

I keep a picture by my bed
The one of our family before Nancy died
And your heart was crushed by despair

I see you smiling as I close my eyes at night
It chases away the ghosts and sweetens my dreams
That's how you're keeping your promise to be there

You are there in my poems, in my theology, in my music
You are there in my son's eyes, and will be there in his
You are there in my heart, as you have been and will ever be

You are in my hands, in my voice
You touched my life in countless ways
My friend, my fan, my Mother