Crab Salad Avocado Grapefruit Delight

Crab Salad Avocado
Grapefruit Delight –
Mama made it for us
when she came to help out
after tiny Jeremiah Joseph
showed his bright blue eyes
to the world
for the very first time.

She always prepared
this sumptuous treat
on the most auspicious occasions –
Christmas, weddings, birthdays.
But this time
was the last time.
My baby boy’s arrival
and our farewell to Mama.

A greeting,
a farewell,
a treasured moment out of time
still hovering in my mind’s eye
delicately glistening with teardrops
as each remembered moment
gives its gift of itself
into this heart and mind.

She was beautiful still,
fragile as a butterfly.
She rubbed my back for me
even though her own back
was hunched over in pain.
She carried my baby
in her arms so tenderly.
Her own arms were bleeding
because she could not
carry herself tenderly.

She worked so hard
for my amazing and
overwhelming family.
Washed our clothes,
baked a turkey,
and the most delicious
orange-glazed pork roast
we ever had.

She laughed with us,
she sang with us,
She even looked almost well
for a moment or two,
when a flash of hope and brightness
returned to her eyes.

Oh, Mama, thank you for this time.
You gave your all for us this time.
This last time
our ignorance was bliss.
We knew not
it was our farewell,
but our hearts told us
to pay attention.
Our hearts whispered messages
of Love, and trust, and courage.

She left for the unknown,
never to return again,
leaving behind a legacy,
a lifetime of adventures
dark and bright –
lessons of Love
and compassion
and gourmet specialties galore.
My favorite was always
her crab salad
avocado
grapefruit
delight.

@ Kamea Moonmaiden 1999