What my mother said - by my mother

***my mom wrote this piece and read it at my grandmothers funeral. I like it, and I thought it was special, so I've decided to post it with her permission.***



My mother told me

We arrived at night.
This memory is clear.
You all went off to bed, but I stayed up
and watched the storm.
The lightning flashed sudden scenes
in our little valley,
thunder rolled back and forth in the hills
pulsing like salt waves over pebbles.

The electricity triggered my soul.

In the morning
everything was washed clean
and the air smelled of the ashes of metal.

So many years ago,
But this memory is clear.

Now she sits by her window
Waiting
for the sky to turn yellow
and the clam to descend.

In the hills a sudden crack and roll.
And then the rain.

The storm will wrap arms around her
and dance her to sleep.