I'm not quite ready to leave this summer behind
the details of the days
are losing their focus
without giving me time to put things into perspective
sending our daughter off to foreign soil for the summer
moving our daughter and son-in-law out of the home
where our grandson was born
hearing our son's first car arrive in the neighborhood
watching our youngest yearn for a chance to drive
dancing with my Sudanese friend on our Canadian soil
celebrating freedom and a new chance for life
on her Sudanese soil too often stained red
sorting through brittle bouquets
satin, crinoline and spanish lace
fragment or foundation
scraps or scaffolding
...these pieces of fabric in my mother's rooms
dragging our air mattress out of the tent
to sleep under the star-filled sky
awakening to stars falling
and dew on our faces
dislodging perennials from my front gardens
disentangling roots and seeds, weeds and bulbs
praying for the same gentle disentangling of weeds for my soul
