Inspiration
I sat quietly in my bedroom,
Blankly gazing at the picture of my mother from long ago.
She looked only about five, but even at that age, I could see her future in her eyes.
The sepia coloring and the off-white frame held in it everything about her;
Her light blonde tresses and baby blue eyes acted like a mirror when I saw them,
Reminding me of myself when I was a child.
The tranquil nature she portrayed in that photo gave me something to strive for,
And her bright smile showed me a sense of comfort, like she was smiling at me,
Studying my countenance and seeing the young woman she wanted me to be.
Her posture showed her as an eager little girl with her whole life ahead of her,
Not knowing it would end abruptly at the age of thirty-nine.
Though she was only a child in the photo, I can almost see her looking down from heaven above,
Proud that I turned out the way she had always wanted.
People say they see who she was in who I am now,
And that I could be everything that she once wanted to be herself.
I have plans for my life.
Determination, ambition, and goals will blindly lead me into the future I have ahead of me.
One day I hope to surpass everything my mother wanted to accomplish; make her proud
And show everyone how strong I could be.
I cannot be the mirror image of my mother,
But the photograph on my dresser reminds me that I can strive to be as poised as she once was
And there is no limit to what I can achieve during my lifetime.
The photograph is an inspiration to me, and my future ahead.
Where would I be if things hadn’t turned out this way?
Well, I really don’t know. All I do know is that I’m striving to be as amazing a woman as the person in that photograph.
In loving memory of Kathy Patricia Gates
1955-1994
