Sacred Walls and Remembrances of You.

I see the picture of your youthful beauty
barefoot in some southern California stream...
Alone in the flow and lost in your own space,
tranquility alive and reflecting in your face.

Another photo catches you smiling and well,
gazing out at the Grand Canyon,
the wind is tossing your hair.
Holding your hand is your daughter and...

that's my mama standing there holding your hand!
You in your prime and beautiful,
so awake in life, always the best,
Not sure if you ever knew, but you were the finest.

I still feel you when I walk into your house.
When I fill your bird feeders and see them gather,
and I have to chase a squirrel off,
I can still hear your hearty laughter.

I can still hear you when I leave a light on,
after leaving a room and you send me back in.
"Turn it off", you say, "you are wasting! It whirs round and round".
and sometimes you'd say it with your eyes. No sound.

I remember well the smells that filled your house
and offers of your custard and homeade soups,
Guacamole, jello with fruit and jellied tomatoes with onions too,
but most of all, I remember the scent of you.

You gave the sweetest hugs and the safest feelings ever.
You were the most honest soul and always spoke your mind.
What I saw was what I got and I loved that a lot.
You told me to keep my silence if I could not be kind.

I remember the farm, fresh yellow wallpaper and good cheer,
then here came my brothers orange soda, a-spraying everywhere.
Your eyes grew wide with shock, but your voice did not raise.
You told him not to shake it first. That was all you had to say.

So impressed I was at that moment and I remember it so clear.
I recieved this message in your actions, that love should not send fear.
I understood that people mattered more than things
and I have held that message through life inside of me.

So tough it is to hold to your standards
for your standards were always quite high,
but this is a goal of mine, for you to know,
you were the biggest example of my life.
                                         
You were few on instructions, big on actions,
A diamond of inner perfection, not a diamond in the rough.
You had a warmth that shined and softened all around you.
But you always had expectations that those that loved you knew.

Words cannot shed light, on how missed and loved you are,
and how alive you will always be, not just in my heart only,
but everyone whose life you touched most would agree,
They just don't make many like you, and you live on in this family.