she still goes on

your mother
is still standing
in the yard
hanging sheets
across the line.
she's still
in the kitchen
stirring
a boiling pot
of red sauce.
she's knitting
yet another set
of booties
for another
child born.
she's wrapping
Christmas gifts
in july. making
a dozen loaves
of bread with her
new bread machine.
she's staring out
the window
waiting for your
father to come home.
she's wiping
the laminated
list of numbers
that hangs
on the wall
near the parrot
cage. she's
waiting for
the phone to ring,
she's doing a crossword
puzzle with
the dictionary
in her lap.
she's not old.
she's not.
she still goes
on.