It’s been half my life

It’s been half my life since

you went, in the early morning quiet

 

Fiery crashing heat lightning

the night you died lit

the sky and we all knew

it was you

finally able to dance

 

You were celebratinig

with the angels up there

free and fiesty

 

You had

so much spark

Sometimes it was hot and

vindictive, and made us

feel small but

then again, your

passion for

reaching out could be

boundless

 

I think of you now

as tiny, since  you were,

at the end

but I remember you HUGE

on the inside

 

I remember your hug

that made everything all right

when my first

cherry pie hit the floor,

facedown,

shattered

 

You enveloped me in

an unassailable wall of goodness

and warmth

and pointed out

the perfection of this crust

if that was how it broke apart

 

You took my hand

to cross the street

when I was twelve and I

started to pull away;

I don’t need help to cross

I said, all high and mighty

and humbled when

you suggested YOU might

 

You taught me your craft, bread,

by telling, having me tell,

making me do,

and I am a Lady now,

baker of the bread

 

You taught me your craft, weaving,

from your bed, piece

by piece description,

you told me, had me

tell and do, and

I am a teacher now

too

 

You let me into your pain

because I asked you to

 

I’m older now than you were then,

left without you

all these years