regal

My mom has very strong features. i wish i new her heritage.. i need to research.... she is a stylish woman, still. even laying in her hospital bed she has on a matching pajama outfit, not the humiliating robe the hospital provides... usually she has on this beautiful, aqua sweater and always her white turban and big glasses. she has always been stylish. i remember looking at photos of her when she was younger and she always was so put together. all the slides of her younger years as a single woman living in dallas. she had the most gorgeous, svelte, long body.. legs for days. 5"11 and 120 lbs. one of my favorite pictures is of her, sitting on a serape, somewhere at a lake in texas. she has her legs crossed like a yoga pose. she is in one of those ultra 50's bathing suits, sleeveless. her hair is perfect and her skin looks tanned. she is smiling... her gorgeous hands are visible. one touching her leg and the other is grasping an oil can sized, schlitz beer. she looks happy. that is the picture i am going to have tatooed on my back. even after married life and 4 kids she kept her style. even when she was out back gardening she was poised. i got my good posture and stature from her i believe, that plus years of ballet. still, she carried herself as though she meant business, and, she did. now, she is shrunken and small, curled and often in a semi-fetal position. odd colored skin and pale lips. she is surrounded by medical equipment and loud noises and odd smells. even, as she lays in that hospital bed, dying, she has dignity and regalness. she is a goddess and a queen, a pioneer woman and an intellectual, a diety and a force to be reckoned with...soon she will be a sweet spirit hovering over me and my family. soon she will be free of the pain that causes grimaces. still, i will remember my momma, the one who was the most brave.