I hold my tongue as I listen to my mother spin
more festive plans. No point reminding her
that she hasn’t decorated the house for years,
that no one expects a woman with a walker
to prepare a party for twenty,
that this is her last winter in her home.
Jennifer L Freed is author of When Light Shifts, a memoir-in-poems about the aftermath of her mother’s cerebral hemorrhage. Please visit jfreed.weebly.com to learn more.
poignant.
Hard to click “Like” on such a touching piece. I’m becoming your mother.
Jennifer, you have a talent for saying so much with a clean elegance. Those final nine words kill me.
Thank you all for your thoughts and comments. Best wishes for your own holidays!
Moving, beautifully told in such a short space.
Really sensitively told.
Congratulations. A worthy story of the week.