Old Memories

I miss J more some days than the other. The empty nest grows on you a day at a time as I am learning  Snippets of conversations in the kitchen come back to mind. Her coming from school tired and hungry, sometimes still wanting a little chat. The days felt monotonous sometimes - we both had schedules to live by and free time was never abundant.

Yet, in the absence of those days, random memories take their place. Today for instance, I remembered that Mother to Son by Langston Hughes used to be one her favorite poems. She knew most of it by heart. When I first heard her read these lines out loud, it felt like vindication. 

Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.

It’s had tacks in it,

And splinters,

And boards torn up,

And places with no carpet on the floor—

Bare.

But all the time

I’se been a-climbin’ on,

And reachin’ landin’s,

And turnin’ corners,

And sometimes goin’ in the dark

Where there ain’t been no light.