noni

shuffling feet, dried crackling leaves, stone of granite, my heart bereaves
as if it were almost yesterday, the child’s laughter in gentle play.
your gnarled fingers worn by life, weaving, knitting yarns and strife.
your silken wisps of snow-white hair brush my soul’s nostalgic care
and concern for this is the day that years ago you passed away.
so as i brush a leaf away, a tear is shed, a smile will stay
for your deep love, i still feel today forty years since you’ve gone away.
you shielded me through your sacrifice. yours had been an immigrant life
protecting the child without, within, your selfless love erased the sin
that grew, collected over the years as children’s dreams became grown-up fears.
and so still today after so much time, immortalized within this rhyme,
you have become my light of hope, a ray of light inside to cope
with all these trials to endure. your mantle clothes me, soft and pure
with a grandma’s love, our lives of nurturing on earth and above.