A Family Listens to Their Mother

by Willard Roger Carlisle

A Family Listens to Their Mother

We strain to hear our mother's failing voice,
as we stand in the hall of her old house.
Every morning, talking to herself, she says--
"get up, try harder, don't quit."

Trembling,breathless,
our mother tries to rise on stork-thin legs,
her face confused ,wasting into shadow.

Our fierce warrior is dying,
her voice falls down and down,
we hold her upright, wishing she could fly.

From: 
Roger Carlisle




ABOUT THE POET ~
I am a retired physician who loves poetry. I write lyrical and narrative poetry, about relationships, marriage, consciousness of the Self.


Last updated February 15, 2017