When I was just a little girl

With long bouncy curls.

I would cling to mother's dress

O' by God I have been blessed.

She sheltered me in her arms

From danger and all those harms.

She would whisper in my ear

"I love you my little dear."

I never quite understood her concern,

But when I grew older I learned.

"They will promise you the moon"

She would say holding the spoon.

She worked so hard to pay the bills,

And do my father's will.

They both would warn me all the time

That life was filled with so much crime.

"Life is not a bed of roses," she would say,

and from her expression she lived that way.

We lived in an old store

That no one used any more.

The trash burner kept us warm

On each cold winters morn.

She would put the hot water bottle at my feet

So I would be warn when I would sleep.

The fire had long gone out in the house

As on the floor would run a mouse.

But love was there in that place

As I looked into mother's face.

Why do I think of her still today?

How could I forget her anyway?

I even wish I was a little girl

With long bouncy curls.

So I could go back home once more,

And see mother in that old store.

She taught me about Jesus Christ

And how He died to save my life.

Yes, I remember her plain print dress,

And how much I have been blessed!

7-12, 2003

Background by: Lena Ayer Kittrell