The Part of Her...

The part of her that’s mother

Must cheer, rebuke and teach

She holds them close and let’s them go

But not beyond prayer’s reach

The part of her that’s daughter

Gleans from her long ago

Some memories to empathize

With present ‘yes’ and ‘no’

The part of her that’s wife

Must be passion’s pure flame

A kind and patient confidant

Lest home-fires slowly wane

The part of her that’s woman

Must have friends, dear and real

To share, over a cup of tea

Things only women feel

The part of her that’s girl

Ah, that will be the key

To living out her other roles

That life calls her to be

© Janet Martin

There are days I need to search hard to find her,that last one, then suddenly the sky is filled with snowflakes; I look up, up into the dizzy air, open my mouth to catch a flake or two, and suddenly she is there...walking in from the barn after chores, lugging a milk pail but stopping to listen to the cold and to twirl in the whirling free-fall of fantasy.