Poem: "A Treasure in the Attic"

Mama - Joanne Parrish

A Treasure in the Attic

by CJ Heck

There's magic in an attic
when you're patient enough
to wade through
the spiderwebs and dust
to discover it.

I found a picture of Mama there
in an old camel back trunk
crowded with forgotten relatives
pressed in albums,
between dried rose bouquets,
and size six shoe boxes
with old love letters
bound in faded ribbon.

How I wish
I had known her then --
young and pretty,
living in a world
filled with Daddy,
before children and cancer.

The photo was crackled,
its corners dog-eared,
but there she was.

A tied bandana
struggled to hold
the whispy curls
reaching for their freedom
in an ocean breeze,
pants rolled up mid-calf,
their cuffs barely
skimming the water,
and she looked so happy

and from a trunk in the attic
I unearthed a treasure,
a love that had shaped me
throughout my life.

How terribly I miss her.


[from the book, "Anatomy of a Poet"]

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"A writer soon learns that easy to read is hard to write." ~CJ Heck

Poem: "I Remember Mama"

Joanne Parrish - My Mama

I woke up this morning with Mama on my mind. She passed away years ago, but I still miss her.  It doesn't matter how old we get, our mothers remain in our hearts forever.

I Remember Mama

by CJ Heck

I remember Mama
blowing chewing gum bubbles
while she ironed.
I was too young for school,
Sesame Street wasn’t invented yet,
the rain was pouring outside
and I was awed.

I remember Mama
sewing at her machine into the night
when she had to get up early for work,
patching my favorite pair of cutoffs
'just one more time'
or putting pockets on pants
because my little brother adored them,
and I still hear her words,
"There’s all kinds of ways to say
I love you."

I remember Mama
teaching us that beauty on the inside
was more important than on the outside,
and "A kind word to someone
might be the only kind word
that person heard all day"
... and how good it felt
finding out she was right.

I remember Mama
telling us to hold onto our dreams,
make them happen, and never say "I can’t"
and how funny I thought it
when she said
the world was our watermelon
and all we had to do was
grab it and take a bite.

I remember Mama
who taught us best by example
with her unconditional love.
"Love isn’t love until it’s given away
and it’s in the giving that we know
it truly does come back ten-fold."

I remember, Mama ...


[from the book, Anatomy of a Poet]

"A writer soon learns that easy to read is hard to write." ~CJ Heck