What is it you don't understand?
You, who threw everything my way!
I sorted through it all
Though the Sands of Time grant me wisdom not.

I am a seeker of truth and would wish to heal,
But with you my words can only sting -
For this I am truly sorry.

I am because of and in spite of you
A legacy we all share
Motherhood grants us empathy and
Compassion for all motherhood -- now mine.

And the joys of the grandchild far outweigh
That of our own issue--
Pleasure, not pain
Responsibility without strain.

Alas!  Surely there are answers to these
Questions of Life
We shall never know; ours is to listen and grow
And become enlightened in the Afterlife
(or is it the After-Glow?)

But until then
It behooves us to just forgive and forget
And never cease to see....
For without You, I would not BE.

-G. Rizzo-Kazolias, 1994

Published in the National Library of Congress' "In the Desert Sun"
This poem received an Editors' Choice Award