I am writing this card, as I feel I must, to tell you how sorry I am
that your mother has died. I guess I can tell you
that I always said hi as she stepped already a white-faced ghost
through the halls
on her walker.
Her great-lady days, alas, were over
but I always liked sitting with her at lunch.
As you see I’m writing this on a card
that shows one of Monet’s endless
scenes of a water-lily pond.
I’ll reproduce it as best I can all the while telling you how much I cared
for your mother
and enjoyed her company.
Some of the great-lady days survived
in her conversation at lunch.
(I exaggerate a bit as one does in these things)
but I hope you’ll find some solace in the card, and in the painting
and in my make-believe of sitting here
where Monet once sat
with his easel.
Published in Cider Press Review, Volume 18, Issue 4.
Mame Willey formerly taught at UMass in Boston. She has now retired North to Hanover, NH, where she teached in the Osher at Dartmouth program.
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