It's been five years
Since Mom
Was called home
From a lifetime
Of torment
And suffering.
She left in her wake
Years
Of constantly shifting
Emotions,
Ranging from
Grief
To anger
To confusion,
And, finally,
To acceptance.
It took a while
For me
To separate
My identity from her's,
To embrace my wholeness
As an individual,
And to see myself
As something more
Than Shirley's daughter.
Now
I can finally appreciate
Her and myself
As a people
In our own right,
And acknowledge
Our similarities
And our differences
With
A forgiving heart.