One Last Poem For My Mom

Yesterday was the party to celebrate my mother's life, and I decided to write a poem for her. My mother use to love it when I wrote poems, so I decided that it was fitting to write one last one for her.

My brother, sister and two good friends of my mother's, all spoke before me and I was the last one to speak in front of the hundreds of people who showed up to pay tribute to my mother. It has now been 5 weeks since she passed and I figured that I would have no problem delivering the poem. Well...we showed a video that we created for my mother when she turned 80 last April, and then Anne, who spoke before me, ended by saying goodbye to her dear friend. Well...that set me off and I had a hell of a time reading this to everyone. So...for all of you who asked me to post this on my blog (and for those of you who never met her but want to know more about her), here you go.

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Mom was a special person known by us all
Standing out in a crowd, when only 5 feet tall

There was nobody for whom she would not talk
Morning or late, heck around the clock

You heard her stories about her family and friend
She told them quite often, to any ear she could bend

You probably even heard the dreaded "Jeff's baby story"
How people saw ugly me, and would tell mom not to worry

When we grew up, she first taught us tennis
Even with me, though I was a quite a menace

She was not the strongest or fastest at all
But she was consistent, rarely missing a ball

Mom was known for her true love of the arts
She knew all of the opera singers and all of their parts

The opera, the symphony and also the ballet
The mornings would blare loudly each Saturday

She taught us a love of music, something I embraced
Even though my love of rock was far from her taste

She loved her cuisine, and really good wine
Being served at a table, the service so fine

When we lived at the house, mom would love to cook
Taking countless recipes out of that tattered old book

We recently shared great time on our cruise
Eating, relaxing and even having some booze

She loved to travel and would leave on a lark
Crossing the globe or staying in Yosemite park

She loved San Francisco because of the weather
But most importantly was for her to be together

With friends and family who she cherished the most
With us 3 and grandkids for whom she would boast

Playing ping pong and bridge, playing for hours
She loved living here, being pampered at the Towers

All of the things to do here in the city by the bay
All her favorite things, we knew she always would stay

Mom, we will miss you as you left us too fast
It is hard to think of you only in the past

Now when I shoot my photos and post them on the net
I won't get the feedback from you that I wanted to get

You loved life and made your mark on every one of us all
You may have gotten shorter, but at the end you stood tall

Now you are gone and we have this giant hole in our lives
An end to a generation; a mom gone; it's tough to thrive

Mom, we love you and know you are still here
In our hearts, our minds, we keep you quite near

I better stop rhyming or we will be here well past seven
But then again, mom is probably up there still talking in heaven

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My mother and her 4 grandchildren (taken 3 months ago)

For those of you who visit my blog to see my photography, you will probably notice that I am a better photographer than a poet, hence the reason that I never started a poetry blog. Thanks for obliging me in this post.