When my mother dies she will wake up from this bad dream
She will rise up lightly and look out the window
There will be elm trees along the street as tall as fountains
She will see them clear as crystal and she will jump out of the window
into the morning
When my mother dies she will run down the green hill and leap off the
rocks into the deep green
quarry and sink down down till her toes touch the waving grass at
the bottom
open her eyes, follow the bubbles back to the top sit on the rocks and dry
out in the sun
When my mother dies she will feel the cool breeze blowing and look down
and see clearly her own thin bare brown feet and count her ribs with her
fingertips.
And she will not know what she looks like.
She will tear down the sidewalk on her scooter
She will be the fastest runner
She will smell the crushed sweet grass.
When my mother dies she will put on the prettiest silk dress and go
downtown for a soda.
She will stand in front of her class and they will do as she says
She will be proud of herself
When my mother dies she will see the circle and everyone and everyone
eating everything and she will say she knew that
And all the voices will say yes, you knew that
and she will sing and dance
with all the voices forever.
When my mother dies she will run to her mother whose mother is holding her
tight,
and she will be holding her babies tight and be part of that chain
back
for ever and ever amen