the face remains the same

The Face Remains the Same

My mother leaned close to me to kiss me goodbye
Her white hair gleamed in the sunlight
There was a twinkle in her blue eyes
The wrinkles on her face, maps of memories eroded by time
The curve of her cheek, so familiar to me
Someone else had that same curve, who could it be?

I saw my grandmother in my mother’s face
The wrinkles may have been different
Her eyes brown, but they twinkled just the same
Her cheek had the same curve, I knew it well
When ever I’d visit, when it was time for me to go
I’d kiss it and tell her that I’d see her soon.

One day, tomorrow never came
She left us, and no one has been the same
I wonder if she sees me?
What changes would she make?
Would she warn me of the pitfalls that lie ahead, or are these chances that are mine to take?

It’s almost like she always knew what I was thinking
She knew my every breath
Sometimes she’d offer her opinion
Sometimes she’d just shake her head
I’d think we could communicate, no one else hearing a word that was said
If she can hear me now, I hope she knows how much she is loved and that I miss her
I would give anything to feel her cheek when I bend over to kiss her

I look in the mirror and I see my face
The lines are now just forming, my memories they trace
I see the spark in my own eyes, blue like my mother’s
I see the curve of my cheek, it resembles hers
I know that my grandma is still with me, showing on my face
We purse our lips the same way when we’re thinking
Laugh at the same jokes
I realize how much I learned from her and that I carry her in my heart

One lifetime lived, one in the making
All of the things I’ve done, all of the things I have yet to do
Sometimes a lifetime seems like forever, but it really isn’t that long
A mere flash in infinity, before you realize it, it’s gone
In my mind I say to her “I’ll see you soon” and I realize that I will.
How long from now I can’t say
I know that she loved me, and from where she is now, a lifetime seems like just a day.