Welcome to the Club
it’s not a club
anyone’s anxious to join
most of us would put it off
as long as possible though
some have been members since birth
no perks with this membership
no water bottles or grocery bags
with colorful logos
No committees to join, no meetings to attend, but
membership is a lifelong commitment and we
pay for membership daily with
haunting reminders of why we’re here––
a voice in our dreams
our mouths without warning forming the words
“Close the door we don’t live in a barn”
familiar handwriting on a recipe card
white swans
yellow roses
clowns
our reflection in a mirror
a hand reaching out from sweater sleeve
the shocked realization the hand is yours
and yet
it is not
In this club
holidays are hard
weddings, births of children, grandchildren
tinged in sadness
I wish I could ply you with platitudes
and cheap liquor
tell you it gets easier
but that’s not true
I was inducted twenty-three years ago
on a late Sunday afternoon
and each day since
has been colored in rosy shades of loss
being a member myself
I wish I could say I know
or understand what
you’re going through
that too
is false
your relationship was unique
your loss is unique
but my heart calls out to you
one motherless daughter to
another
Notes:
Poem a Day Challenge: Day 11
This is off prompt. I heard yesterday that the mother of one of the poets in my community had died, and it brought up thoughts of my own mother's death, and how, although the pain is easier to bear, I'll never get over it.
Comments
Lani...wow these are so
Lani...wow these are so great, what a challenge you are doing, I love it. This poem is so beautiful in a bitter-sweet way. I can't wait to read them all!
Yesterday a friend came into
Yesterday a friend came into my house and sat down and played my mother's piano while she was waiting for us and 22 years melted away as I saw my mother sitting and playing and waiting. Sadness, joy, the warmth of having her presence near, when sometimes she seems so far, are hallmarks of this club.
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