Demonstrating wit, handsome and tall, caring,
Able to tease and still bring a glad smile,
Daddy to six pairs of eyes, and loved with fierce pride.

Family is shared, and started,
In Oregon, orchards and
Railroad tracks down the road,
Swamp Kingdom was a playground
To tiny tots of exuberant joy.

Shepherdess of siblings younger
Hearts, this girl energetically taught us
Arts, setting free imaginations, with
Noblesse of the firstborn child, and
Nursing in her future, gifted with passion,
Organization her useful tool, lovely
Navigator of Life, forging on, with delight.

Searching for a family answer
Ended paternal ties, leaving hearts
Cold and lonely, traveling
On an adventure to the future,
Newly arriving in Wisconsin,
Drawn by maternal relation.

Lovingly caring, and early knowing her mind,
Instilled seriousness with elation, so by freeing
Smiles and touching children’s souls by showing
A Life lived by values, and goals to gladly achieve.

Tailored to children’s imagination,
Home of grandparents given up,
In preparation for growth, in a
Richly-endowed little town of
Dairyland beauty and ease of reach.

Jock-teen with bushy-haired halo, mowing the lawn
Effortlessly, Big Brother and teaser extraordinaire, with
Friends all about and girls without count, Bolly to all,
Father-deserted boy, with sensitive views, still he thrives.

Finding a slot in the Now,
Order-placed, meeting, exploring,
Unexpected seasons of extremes,
Roles changing, hollowed hearts,
Tokens of tragic parental divorce,
Home is, still, a busy, complicated world.

Embracing the lives of words, she dreamed,
Restless, searching…solitary-natured, an introvert,
Imagination was her key, cruising through life,
Needing affirmation, seeing her words live, still dreaming.

Faster Time spins and spits its pains,
Infrastructure remolds and heals,
Fixing memories, as a move and death
Take father’s influence away from family,
Happiness in youth’s sap is tempered.

Mastering miniature records of complex design,
Awesome boy, who transcends himself, always
Reaching for the patterns in life, gravely
Teaching patience, and sampling intolerance,
Yet, seeing worth abound and making his points.

Suddenly, it seems, children begin their exodus,
Images of futures and clanging winds, Kelly
Xeroxed copies start to meet their own challenges,
Tinder-zealed souls flow forth, never forgetting
Hearth and Home and Heart.

Precious family baby, beautifully sublime,
Angry tantrums of pampered fertility of mind
Interfered with progress, proceeding past
Go, sharing her care-free spiritedness,
Energy channeled into walking her life’s path.

Managing, working and flower-growing Queen,
Offering and teaching us respect for the whole,
Made us into caring and decent human souls.

Thank you, Mother.

Erin Moen
2/16/03
Copyright 2003 ©