One

She is Southern, in the style of Gone With The Wind.
But she is not not Scarlett, whose charm is greater than her beauty.
She is Melanie, concerned and sweet,
With all the graces and genuine beauty that Scarlett only pretends to have.

Two

She plays concert piano by ear
And drives an MG.
She is hopelessly in love,
With a young man whom even his friends
Call a stodgy old man.

They are both 18.
And then they are 20.

Three

An expected marriage
Two families join
And within four years
There are three more.

Four

The heartbreak
Takes her and her three
To a land far away
From the life they had known.

Five

The MG and the piano
Have been replaced by a sedan and typewriter
Her happiness has become
The happiness of her children

Six

A sailor a pirate
Takes them on an adventure
To a magical land of mountians and wet, green forests
But just for awhile.

Seven

She returns to the South
Her children in tow
Back to her roots
And back to her family.

Eight

One by one, the birds leave the nest
But still she worries over them
and cries for their tragedies
And laughs for their triumphs

Nine

In the twilight come more
Two girls and four boys
And lots of dogs and one cat
All of them her grandchildren
All are celebrations of her life.

Ten

All of the children of her life
Are who they are because of her.
And for her, this is her life’s fulfillment
The joy she feels for the sacrifices she she made,
For her, it has been worth it.

She is my mother, and her name is Angie.

© 2014 D. Edward Croy