Mama
I missed you today
not an unnatural emotion
but unnatural for me
in the midst of a song
that’s not about you
contemplating my lover’s familia
there you were
smiling.
In 43 years I don’t remember ever
feeling this way
not even
in the 13 since you disappeared
I still recall
that 2 a.m. phone call
from 1500 miles away
the hardest phone call
my father ever made
his voice saying
“sweetie, she died”
and my roommate
who understood no English
lurching downstairs crying
because of whatever
was coming out of me
after that.
I stood in line at the airport
in my black coat
and by the time we got
to the tarmac at LAX
to sit and wait
for a gate
while they harvested your organs
in my absence
I’d had all my feelings.
Impossible to explain
what it’s like
to lose your mother
the one person you know nothing without
whose womb was ground zero
for your very existence
dawning.
Even though I sometimes hated her
often pitied
usually feared
and always mistrusted
I now miss the best she did
and the things she never gave
not because she didn’t want to
but because she was unable.
I wonder now if she didn’t love me
because I didn’t love her.
I’m sorry mama
I so wanted you to see me
my simmering rage
and oldest daughter’s pain
kept me from seeing you
seeing true
and now at 13 years of distance
and safety
I can finally admit
the garden of my life
is more thirsty, faded
and barren
without you.
© S. Rinderle, 2013
Purple Lyrics 
Gee Susana. That’s very moving poetry.
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Thanks Dan! That was an interesting one, it just sort of happened…on a run no less. First time I’d cried about my Mom’s death since she passed. Life is so strange.
Wow, Susana. VERY powerful….. thanks for sharing this with me/us. Rita
On Fri, Apr 5, 2013 at 4:46 PM, Purple Lyrics
So beautiful Susy.
Thank you Dani and Rita, and you’re welcome! 🙂
I’ve been enjoying the poetry posts my talented friend. So glad you are finding time and inspiration for your creative side. This poem brought a tear to my eye! It reminds me if how it took me years after my father’s death to begin to understand who he was, how his own childhood shaped him and why we had such a painful and fractured relationship. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much Bro!! You’re very welcome. Sometimes it feels self-indulgent or even narcissistic to write so much about my personal pain or inner feelings, but responses like yours remind me that sharing those things can create connection, insight, and healing for others too. Thanks for reading! xo
Very much such a moving piece, Susana. Now as my one-year anniversary for my dad is quickly approaching, my mind has been spinning with emotions and frustrations. Thank you so much for sharing this piece. xoxo
Wow yes Mona grief definitely has its own wisdom and timeline. You are so welcome! xo