Memaw,
I have dreamed about you
every night this week.
I would like to think you are visiting me
from the great beyond.
We’re in your house and
I can hear your voice,
I can smell your skin,
I can hear you laugh,
I can hear you sigh.
I can watch you smooth the table cloth
down with your hands
and wash the kitchen counter.
We watch Gone With the Wind together,
then have tea.
We look through an old Sears catalog,
we sort your quilt pieces,
we string buttons.
After we visit the Halls Gap Overlook,
we end the night at The Dairy Freeze.
I love you immeasurably.
The older I get,
the more I miss you.
Your absence is enough
to fill the world,
Mabel Spaw Bates.
*
Rest In Peace