10 things about your mother before going to sleep:
1. She was funny; she could make everybody laugh.
2. She had fair hair and big eyes.
3. She liked to plant things; she had a talent for it. She could stick a tire in the ground and grow a car.
4. She could run; she was fast. You couldn't ever race her. I mean, if you did, you couldn't let her get a head start; otherwise, she'd beat you for sure.
5. She couldn't cook. Burned everything, even water.
6. She loved a good story; she could sit and listen to anybody tell a story. She specifically liked funny ones. She loved to laugh.
7. She knew all the constellations. Every planet in the nighttime sky. She could name them, you know? Point them out. She never got tired of looking at them.
8. She hated being a preacher's wife. She said she couldn't stand having all those ladies at church judging her on what she said, what she'd do, what she was wearing, and why she didn't know how to cook. She said it made her feel like a bug under a microscope.
9. Your mom loved you; she loved you very much. Opal: but she left me... -She left us. Opal: why did she leave us? -She just packed her things and left us... Opal: Do you think she's ever going to come back? No, the preacher said. No, I do not. I've hoped and prayed and dreamed about it for years, but I don't think she'll ever come back. Opal: Gloria says that you can't hold on to anything. That you can only love what you've got while you've got it. She's right, the preacher said. Gloria Dump is right, but do you know what? I just realized something, India Opal. When I told you your mama took everything with her, I forgot one thing, one very important thing that she left behind.- What? You. Thank God your mama left me you. Good night Opal.
- Because of Winn-Dixie,
My favorite childhood movie.
(Now as an adult, I can relate to the mother.)
YOU ARE READING
CONJOINED
PoetryFor him, when he hugs me, he makes me feel like I'm coming home after a long day at work.
