MY MOTHER, MY PLACE

                           By Sérgio Gibim Ortéga

(For Mother’s Day)
They took the house, the yard, the song,
the scent of coffee on sheets all along,
but they couldn’t steal her morning cheer,

nor her gentle ways when dawn is near.

They say all things have price and name,
but a mother is root no one can tame.
Even far, she’s the sky within mine,
even gone, where my soul finds its shrine.

They sold off memories, locked every gate,
but hearts don’t sign or seal their fate.
She breathes through each of my prayers,
in quiet verses, she’s always there.
I cannot see her, cannot be near,

but where she goes, my eyes appear.
This Mother’s Day, I’m longing and grace,
a hug that no harm can ever erase.
                                                 [May 8, 2025]