"And where are you and what are you doing?"
She said from her raft in mid ocean.
My mother is far away even when she is near.
I think almost as soon as I call she forgets who I am.
Names swim beneath her raft and evade her mind's hook.

The telephone has become mysterious.
"Where is the voice coming from?"
Her tone is bewildered.
Presently the ocean is calm; the raft drifts on
Taking her farther and farther away.

Mama, where are you going? Why must you leave me
Even before you have left.
Could you at least wave from your raft?
Or is the shoreline too misty and too far away
For you to see me from where I am waving?

My aching heart is cast upon the waves.
Now it dissolves becoming one with the sea.
It surrounds your raft and you. It is with you always.
Now my love is part of the sea around you.
It no longer matters
Whether or not you can see me waving.

© Tasha Halpert
Used with permission

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Midi playing ~ "Always By Your Side"
Rev. Margaret Cox ~ Margaret's Midi Page
Used with permission ~ No longer on the Internet

Main graphic ~ Stef's Life Works
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