mom

made the best cream peas on toast
fried corn meal mush with fresh maple syrup
tapped from ancient maple trees in yard
where brothers and sisters slept out drunken stupors
at yearly summer gathering of relatives

mom

sewed a purple coverlet and bed ruffle
for my bedroom with white wallpaper
decorated with lavender
lilacs pungent aroma seeped through a window
while I rested and waited for shooting stars

mom

told junior high school principal
that her daughter took a bath at home
did not need a shower at school
where students
stole her clothes and hid them

mom

reported Judo instructor
who spent a great deal of time
on top of
daughters
during evening lessons

mom

did cart wheels in the grass
stood on her head against our house
played baseball at family gatherings
told the best "dirty" jokes
heard at community senior center

mom

is missed