I Miss Mama

For Mother's Day --

I miss Mama

There are times, now and then, when the feelings wash over me-

I may be shopping, I may be lonely, or maybe sitting on the porch just sipping tea.

Then, and now, seem to overlap and sweet memory comes to call.

As I see her face, I hear her voice, and the way the light danced in her hair.

In moments like those, I feel the loss, and remember she’s not there;

I miss the smiling woman in the picture hanging on the wall.

I miss Mama. 

I miss Mama

She wasn’t perfect, just a woman, she was trying the best she could

But she loved her family, did her best, and always taught her kids to be good.

Then, and now, seem to overlap and sweet memory comes to call.

Her eyes twinkle and I hear the echo of her laugher as her arms open wide.

Wrapped up in her warm love; you knew nothing could happen with her by your side.

I miss the smiling woman, the always smiling woman, in the picture hanging on the wall.

I miss Mama.

--Marilyn A. Hudson, 2014

Velma D. Cochren Terry and her sister Elva Cochren Merry, ca 1990