When She Calls My Name

Posted on December 29, 2015
In 2011 I wrote a poem for my mom. I thought I would begin with that since begin I must. Mamma died of Alzheimer’s on September 30, 2011.

When She Calls My Name
Keitha Whitaker
January 22, 2011

Our lives are tangled up inside;
My sister’s, my brother’s and mine.
Flecks of smiles;
Flashes of light;
Glimmers of days gone by.

She looks at me
And I hope I see
Some sign of recognition.
She tries to speak but words aren’t there
And effort does not bring them.

One thought now stays with me:
We are more than our memories.
She loved me long before I knew her
And I hear it in my heart
When she calls my name.

Lone Goose

I saw a lone goose flying, honking loudly.

I thought I heard urgency in their cries.

Were they pleading? “Wait for me! “Wait for me!” “Please, wait!”

Were they left behind? “Wait!” “Wait!” “Wait for me!”

Were they calling, “Follow me! It’s time to go! Hurry, hurry!”

“Fly away!” “Fly away!” “Fly away with me!”

Where was the rest of their “V?” Where were their people?

Their cries echoed across the sky as they flew away, I know not where.

©Keitha Whitaker, April 2, 2021

Pronouns: she, her, hers; I am an earthling