(for Mama <3 )

She wore her favorite red and beige
batik cotton dress, that morning,
while i,...wore old, faded clothes,
unfit to be worn outside the house,
my slippers, thinned by frequent use...
she would've admonished me,
had she noticed.

she never went out of the house
wearing crumpled attires......no missing
buttons or snaps...her collar was always
straight...stiff.....until she came home
from work at night...

as she grew older, she preferred more
comfortable clothes, like, cotton shirts  
and dresses....and how she favored
those with batik patterns...
even with her back bent a bit,
she still dressed up
with grace and confidence.
whatever the occasion was.

in her younger days, i felt sad
each morning when  she left for work...
with admiration, i followed her as she
walked away...as far as my eyes could reach...

these days, i am older...i still follow her,
as far as my mind could remember...


Sally

© Rosalia Rosario A. Bayan
---July 10, 2019