My Memories of You

I wish I could have talked to you more,
These rooms resonate your leathered finger tips
Caressing my straight dark hair as you drift in a whisper
Duérmete mi niña...

Your feather weighted honey hair
Where white lilies would nimbly stretch from root to cheek
As you mopped and swept gravel floors...
Your thin self embracing me,
If only I could have held on longer
Would this empty chapter have been filled with
All of Marcelina...

Your curled bleached purses
Haven't moved from last April,
The soft floral that wift from the planners to the receipts
You gathered over the years...

Your dainty flushed flowers
Still bloom here by this window
Along with your ollas, pans, and molinillo...
Your recipes of mole and tamales
Over the birthdays and Sundays were sweet echoes
I should’ve taped...

Your loving smile as all your grandchildren
Would come those Sundays and enveloped you
In hugs and “how are you”s as we ate;
You stayed then flew.
This home, filled with my memories of you.