Fending Off the First Fall Frost (September 30, 2015)

(I wrote this about 1 year and 9 days after I lost my Mom...)

Fending-off the first fall frost,
Just the way my mother taught
Hustle to beat the temperature drop
Linens now become plant-blanket tops...

My mom played her weather radio
Like a sailor at sea,
Me, I checked the net
And found a frost warning.

Rushed to pick off the tomatoes,
With the moon overhead,
A bit sad for the green ones
Among the red -
(But Mom also taught me
To wrap them, to ripen them. :)

Haha, I got to beat Jack Frost
At his game -
'Got winter plant-friends in pots,
The day 'fore yesterday...

Yet, in the changing , crisp air,
'Neath a clear, starry sky
I feel how much
My mother's daughter am I ...

She was alone,
I am alone,
But we both knew, truly, really,
We are not alone.

I smile when I say,
Really, in many ways,
I would never be able to fill her shoes.
But I know that's okay
Cause she raised me in a way
To empower me
For whatever I would choose.

And she knew what I would choose -
That it would be truth;
And an insistance on righteousness
That ran through both our veins

And justice, wisdom, love,
Like the Heavenly Father above
We both looked forward to
A better day.

I know that time is near
When things will be better here,
When gone will be all troubles,
When peace will permanent,
Secure, refreshing air.....

Yet, tonight, I think of you Mom.
With a smile,
But with heartache and some tears
As I carry on what you showed me -
Loving the happy times of those years...

Most of all, I think of how
You would be proud
That I copied your will to help save.
So as I do my best to help save
As many as I can,
I plan to tell you of it
On some near-future day.