the day you left us
was the first day of spring
supposed to
   initiate new life
   signify cyclical energy
   blossoming flowers
   the greening of trees

you
   or your body
decided against it

I do not blame you
for this

I just wish
you had stayed on
a little longer

to answer
   all the questions
   I never took the time
  to ask

to tell my father
   that he is OK
   with all his idiosyncracies

to be assured
   that you have been
   a wonderful mother
   and wife
   even if we not always
   found the words
   to say so

to know
   that your husband
   and your sons
   loved you
   as much as you loved them

I wish