For Elaine (born 10-10-1929): In Memoriam

 

'The tenth day

Of the tenth month'...

Was forever my mother's birthday:

... And once upon a time

(Eleven years ago),

In the midst of our prime,

We joyously observed it

As a numerically matchless

'Triple 10' soiree.

It was her 81st,

And the fallow fields

Were still soft and warm;

The red maples danced

In the autumn breeze;

Butterflies floated by,

Then, and again;

The nearby marsh grass

Whispered with bees,

As we drove southward

 (On 10-10-10)...

Departed for years,

I ponder what she knows;

October, it's said,

Reveres

A SUMMER ROSE

Like no other:

  [Sigh] ...

 In a few more months we'll tally

 (Yet) another year gone by

Then shall we grieve for that final

Placid petal beneath the dimming sky?

-OR-

" To Autumn's languid sun and rain

  When all the world is on the wane ? "

Oh! Let the true joy of

The long dead child

Sing burning,

Smoldering,

Into the fiery sun !!

written by L.P.-G.