Remembering My Mom

Remembering...

she lived measuring
herself by her own
criteria rather than
the judegment of
others.

she laughed deeply
cried readily and
folded herself passionately into chosen arms.
she lived vitally and acted on impulse.
she managed her days as if she were
at game: coach and player both and
hard at it.

she knelt to be like children and
stood tall to aspire to certain greatness.
no one liked well her fury but rather
loved to be lavished by her generosities.
she learned as well as she taught but
never learned the grace of ease with
error - she preferred to be perfect.
we did not often tell her she wasn't.
and while she was not perfect - she
longed to love perfectly, protect and
inspire those she cherished and
those whome she named "friend".

our days shine
less brightly with her
absent them.
by maryanne mbl radmacher

I pray with all my heart that when I am gone this will also describe my life. Seven and a half years later, loving and missing her daily, I am.