Idella's Rhapsody

This piece is dedicated to my mother in her time of loss...

"Idella's Rhapsody"

I knew you
But I didn't know you
But you made my mother happy
And for that
I loved you.

I remember when you came around
My mother's excitement
Couldn't be contained
Like Celie reuniting with Nettie
Her best friend
Her
Sista'
Had come home.

I don't think I ever remember hearing your name
Before then
But afterward
I knew I would never forget it.

I remember stepping into your pristine world
Of travel
(You'd lived in Boston
How exotic in my mind)
Of manicured lawns
And a show home
With fair walls
High ceilings
So high
It seemed my dreams could hang there
In that perfection;
I remember the joy I felt
Every time my mother would say
'We're goin' over to Tiny's'
You were escape
For her
For us
Me
And you made my mother happy.

Long before the brick
And the splits
Of those precise worlds
You
Were a dose of truth
With your cigarettes and beer
And the way you
As I now do
Reminisce
Of your night skin
Brightening your alabaster grin
And my mother's days
When the sun seem to set
A little too early on her happiness.

Time faded you
Oh beautiful black rose
But there you stood
Proud and unfathomed
Amongst weeds
Feverishly attempting to strangle you;
My mother's smiles disappeared
Replaced with periodic reports
Of the gales that would come
Into your field seeking to topple you;
Though you would bow for a moment
You always arose
To let the blessings above
Shine down upon you.

I remember that last time I saw you
Because it was the first time
Those sepia memories returned
And I was reminded of the influence
You had upon my life
That you will never know;
A few of your petals lay strewn about
Yet your bouquet lingered strong
And you made my mother smile...

It was a chance conversation
Upon which I discovered
The gardener's shears had taken you;
I heard that sorrow in her voice
Sent my love to those who knew you best
And begin to feel that tickle in my mind
Which led me here
To write for her
For you
And those
Whom I cannot embrace right now
To comfort;
Sad as I am
I have to remember
That the world got to see you grow
Beautify
And at the end of the day
You made my mother smile...
©2010clarencecbess