Today’s writing prompt was to write a memory poem. I wrote about memories of my mom. There were no instructions for poetic form.
Like many of my poems for this challenge, this one is a rough draft. I think that the most difficult part of this challenge has been posting the messy rough drafts.
Memories of Mom by Alissa Dedic
Holidays and birthdays with Mom
ordinary yet special days–
cake, gifts, a favorite meal or restaurant.
Thanksgiving dinners were eaten late,
the turkey never seemed to roast;
then there was the year of the crooked Christmas tree.
It kept falling over;
she threw it out the front door,
ornaments and all.
When I finally got an A in math,
she pumped both fists in the air,
shouted hurray, hurray with me!
She always called me Dorothy or Cinderella
or whatever name I called myself that day.
She listened to the stories
I made up in my head;
honestly, back then, no one else would.
She let me mix colors and patterns
and sleep any which where–
the kitchen floor, the backyard, the bottom of the stairs.
And she worried about me,
my shoes on the wrong feet,
my own way of lace tying,
but she let me dance anyway,
on the stage of the old little white church .
She turned ordinary days into holidays,
princess days with crowns
and tea in bone China cups.
She celebrated best
when you got what you would see.
On the scariest, darkest special delivery days,
in St. Luke’s Presbyterian Hospital,
she sat and knit with me
and brought a red velvet cake with strawberries,
number 2 and number 8 candles,
the big milestone week of high-risk pregnancies.
And that is why she had the fragrance of grace.
Life was hard and seldom went her way,
but as a child she taught me to say,
This is the day that the Lord has made
I will rejoice and be glad in it.
Today’s writing prompt is courtesy of Robert Lee Brewer, a senior editor for Writer’s Digest. To read the original post, please follow the link below:
https://www.writersdigest.com/2025-april-pad-challenge-day-25
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