Flowers Like Memories Grow

Poem

Photo of Mexican marigolds by author, Mark Tulin

You collect green succulents,
Orchids and geraniums
To commemorate your mother
Like soothing words of maternal memories
Her gentle patience blossoms
In times of need and illness
The undoing of dreams
The days too ashamed to tell
Your mother was there
With harmony’s gardening tools
Greeting you at the gate
Giving you a garland of unconditional love
Tending to your patch of sorrow