Lessons from My Mother
by Rachelle Reese

You taught me to find magic
in the white narcissus growing
miraculously from marbles
and a puddle of water in a glass bowl.

You taught me to see beauty
in the brilliance of roses
and the tiny hummingbird
hovering close to sip the nectar.

You taught me to hear music
in the cadence of words,
read lovingly aloud from the
well-thumbed pages of storybooks.

You taught me to know love
as a caress, soft as cashmere,
as a pillow when life is hard,
and as a bond, resilient as steel.