On the Last Day of My Mother's Life

on the last day of my mother's life

she pulled me down near her mouth

and whispered I was a Goddess

on the last day of my mother's life

her friends sang songs to her and brought

flowers from their gardens

and vegetables even

so that somehow she might

eat and be healed

on the last day of my mother's life

when the tubes went dry

and the bills came in

and she knew that her home

and her garden would be owned forever by some bank

on that day, me a tiny goddess in the making,

wished my mother,  Goddess or not,  had health insurance

on the last day of my mother's life I chose not to be tiny

I chose to be Kali with the sharp knife