crone vision

     the crone in my young vision

to my surprise was me.

her presence alone

commanded respect.

   nothing less. and

she had no regrets.

oh, she had made mistakes

but they tuned out to be 

some of her best teachers

how can I ever become her?

   i cried, broken,

i'm as far from her

as a worm from the moon!

and i was.

square your shoulders,

was all she said.

i'm decades rising

   three words pulling the tides

mary oishi

1 April 2018