Remembering My Mother (For Patricia Harrison) Poem by Sean C. Harrison

I remember my mother's iron will
Which brought us through many rainy days:
One that pledged her children would not suffer the way she had.
I remember her boundless resourcefulness
Springing from nothing but determination
To see her children strive.

I remember her quick temper:
That no-nonsense demeanour
We dared not rouse in the halls of her house.

I remember her early departures for work
Back aching from years of climbing that hill to Arcadia School
To teach strangers' children the Golden Rule.

I remember her sweet voice singing
Sunday morning classics on the blaring radio,
On the church choir, n the trio.
In fact, everywhere she could.
Trust me, she sang good!

I remember her tears, few but heartfelt
From a stormy marriage to a husband
Who could have cared more
For her and the children she bore.

I remember her love for flowers.
How she nurtured them like her children,
Spending in her garden many long hours
And of course, I watered them.
Those flowers were not my friends.

I remember her screams
When she heard her son had died.
How she cried for the one dearest to her heart!

I remember when she left these shores
And I saw her face no more for twelve long years.
Then one Sunday she came
Bounding from that airplane-
She didn't age.
She was still quite the rage,
Her visage apparently set in stone
Like the iron will she owned.
And again I learned
The very day she returned
This was one truly phenomenal woman
Forged by God's mighty hand,
Strong and heady
But inviolably steady.
My mother; God bless her heart.
Then again, she was blessed from the start.