When I wear a color other than black, brown, tan or grey, 

it is my mother’s love of all things bright and beautiful 

that influences those choices.  

When I dance and sway to some Latin beat, 

it is my mother’s love of all things music 

that stirs the same in me.  

When I love my children more than I can express,

it is my mother’s unconditional love 

that she taught me to give.

When I long for a place to call home

it is because my mother gave up

and left me with none.

—

Lourdes A. Gautier resides in Bergen County, NJ. Her short story, 1952, was published in Acentos Review.  Her poems have appeared in Calliope and in the Silver Birch Press. She is also a contributor to the award-winning anthology, “These Winter Months: The Late Orphan Project.”