Sometimes we get a chance to say goodbye and thank you. I did, in a letter. She wasn’t a relative but I had always known her.

Happy first Mother’s Day in heaven.

She talked so much
I could not get a word in
But she lived alone
So she needed to share
She talked about folks
As if I had known them
And I'd listen along
Just to show that I care

She opened her home
When I found myself wanting 
A kind place to rest
To feel safe from the pain
Of the harshness of living
Where I was not wanted
Till I could find strength
To move on again

She prayed, so I'm told
For the people who sent her
A Christmas card sending
To her festive cheer
She took up the cares 
Of her friends and their troubles
Telling the One she had 
Trusted to hear -

For all of her life
For all of her children's
This Father who listened
To every prayer
And now that it's quiet
It's my turn to tell you
My life was just better
Because you were there