She’s Not There: A Poem of Loss

I see my life in two parts:

When you were alive, and after you died.

From the womb I came, from the womb I go.

There is no true final goodbye to you, Mother.

Amor est vitae essentia

Parts of me are buried in your grave, 

The bonds that are shared between mothers and their children.

The mystery of our womanhood ties us together beyond the tomb.

Semper Desiderari

I mourn the past, the present, and the future that will never be. 

I look for snatches of you, in the world around me

While your obituary photograph keeps silent witness.

Who thought that an empty seat could take up so much room?

Nunc scio quid sit Amor

It’s your blood in my veins, 

When I look at you, Mother, I see myself,

Marked with the banal finality of death.

Memento Mori

Here’s to all the memories that will never be:

Requiescat in pace