Poetic License: ‘Yizkor’
Although she was not
What once she was
For too long a time —
And although at the end
She was not always there
When you were there for her —
And although recall and remembrance
Like the rest of her
Were too dimmed by age and pain
For her to ever again utter your name —
Remember instead
The magnificent mother in her
Remember instead
The one whose eyes would burst with light
Whenever you came into her sight —
For whom your tiniest step forward
Was a milestone measureless —
Remember instead
The one and only one
Among all the billions
Who have lived, loved, lost,
Wept and rested
On this planet —
Remember
The one of all the billions
Here now and yet to come,
Bound or unbound
By whatever degrees of separation,
The one who was, is,
And will forever be —
The one who loved you first,
The one who loved you most,
The one who loved you longest.