memories

                      cicadas chitter
gentle breeze stirs the garden
                    hot in sun
               cool in  house

          on the south side
two huge sweet maples
        inhale sunlight and
           shade this home

memories of other july fourths
                   wander my head
especially of the one six years ago
                  of the day when mom
                sisters dolores and deb
and i were at the long pine reservoir
       deb had her sail boat and kayak
       i had my kayak

a rare event for all of us to be together
                 "doing the same thing"
dolores was, well, dolores, funny,
outrageous, especially when compared to her older and younger sisters

                           images, vignettes of the day
                                      mom in deb's kayak 
at  80, her zsa zsa hairdo had every hair in place.
 me in mine
deb and dolores working to get the 14' sailboat
                       off the trailer and into the water
                    dolores trying to understand deb's barked orders
                        of do this, do that....

we all laughed that day.
   together spent time
   shared moments, minutes and hours.

mom's been gone about 15 months now
                                    and dolores
well she left this world four years ago,
two days after her 56th birthday on july 12th
a shock, a suprise
she had worn her heart out.
     
quiet morning
 memories linger
 shadows of the past


















         



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