For My Mother in  Search of Her Self 

You boarded the train  -- how many years ago?
Wearing big beads to cover up the War
And a high pompadour for courage.
A child then, you carried within you
Another child down the miles of track,
Unquestioning love leading you
Through the howling nighttime
Taking hope along like a box lunch
To ward off hunger,
Shorten the hours
Until the train made a last lurching stop.

Through dirt-streaked windows
The rest of your life
Waited at the gate,
A promise in uniform
Strong and smiling,
Offering part of himself,
wanting all of you.

Today you travel in daylight,
Your eyes wide with remembering.
You play Robin Hood without a fuss,
Taking back things
That were always yours.
You cradle hope in a photo album
To ward off lonely hours,
Make the moments count.

[Note: This poem appeared in the August 2011 edition of Purple Pros, a publication of the Southeastern Writers Association.]