Poetry

Finding Mom

I have her ashes, her home,
all of her cluttered possessions
but am lost regarding her current
location.

The answer is in metaphysics, I’m told,
and write about this in my journal.
I get as far as the question
in cursive, which I carry with me all day,

because the problem with absolute
answers is that you begin think they exist
for everything.
Metaphysically,
my root chakra
is lacking, so I do root chakra

things: eat root vegetables
and orange-colored fruit,
water the garden in bare
feet. The cardinal that visits
my garden every day pecks

sunflower seeds from exhausted
heads. I think of Mom
since the cardinal is a sign
that someone we love is near
and yes, this is where
my mother is – in the garden
and in the bird; in blooms
and in the grass. And she is in me

just as I am in the garden and
consequently, too, this
is where god might reside
if such a belief could
situate itself in my mind.

Lisa Hase-Jackson

Previous
Finding Ourselves Rooted
Next
Oceanfull