Her Face

first of all, I love the earth on which my mother's
feet once walked, shed skin cells everywhere,
a place I know, the sloping hills, the small white
house, the sound of its joy, its suffering
her hands, her heart inside.

They say God giveth and taketh away,
I know He also moves, re-arranges, transports,
condemns, forgives.  My mother's face,
its light, its lack of fear, its unbending faith.  

How she sang about

her love, her life in a rainstorm while I

remember its open windows, the cool
dark winds, the clouds moving
like a family of wolves

hunting.