Poet’s Corner

Lucille Marlene

 

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I have often told your Mother

that she comes from good stock,

and it is true.

 

She was birthed into a world

with mighty women

looking over her,

watching to make sure

she understood her value;

telling her that her

dreams, hopes, and wishes

rested in her hands,

and not someone else’s vision

of whom she could or should be.

 

You will never meet them,

the two commanding women

whose name you bear;

but I knew them both,

and let me tell you Miss

you too come from solid stock.

 

They were strong, stout, and stalwart;

not the kind of women who fall apart

when the world turns against them

or who break

in a gusty wind.

 

Life was not easy for these women,

they had to fight battles,

which you,

thank God,

will never need to know.

 

An education,

one of your many birthrights,

was not promised to them,

they had to demand

a seat in the classroom,

where they mastered and conquered;

but that was not enough

for either of them,

they devoured

the written word

and sought knowledge

on every turn,

which life presented.

 

When they stepped out

into the world,

to earn a living,

it was not assumed

that they were capable and competent,

the world was not their oyster,

yet they made their mark

nevertheless,

and not just for themselves –

they worked impacting others,

leaving the world a better place

than they had found it.

 

These were women

who valued people,

the most precious commodity

we have on earth;

they loved their families and friends fiercely,

gaining from their interactions with humanity,

and giving generously

to the souls which they encountered,

bearing their burdens

and always seeking to understand

what can so often be an un-verbalized need.

 

There was never a point of enough

for these women who

sought to see the seven seas

and then some;

they lived thinking

about the unexplored horizons

and planning for their next adventure,

while making sure

those other elements

of life were not ignored;

because to them it mattered

if their husband was ready to face his day,

if their children’s homework was done,

and if their neighbor needed help.

 

You neither need to fill their shoes,

nor follow in their footsteps,

that is not what either of them

would have wanted for you;

you will find the shoes

which suite you best,

and create your own path,

that will lead you to the place

where your dreams and hopes are fulfilled,

but always know Miss

that you do not walk alone,

they and the many

who have come before you,

will always be with you,

enlightening, encouraging, and enabling you

to go forward and make your mark,

as only you can,

for the contribution you are about make,

can be made by no other.

 

Welcome to the world Miss Lucille Marlene!

 

~ Cristina Jill Mosqueda ~

(Great Auntie Jill)

 

Photograph take by Caroline Mosqueda Gregan (Proud Grandmother)

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