The Lady in the Pictures
Suzanne S. Austin-Hill
as told to me by her son
In sepia tones,
her skin is smooth,
eyes kind,
smiles bright with the hope of golden tomorrows for
her four little ones.
Her care for them fills every measure of time.
They believe that she sleeps not.
Once tired from a day's labors, she dares to nap.
They think she's passed on to glory 'til a tap from his
tiny hand awakens her.
Four bellies never, ever truly empty.
To bed without supper
only if the end justifies the means.
Her hunger pains break the silence of the night,
but are unheard by her sleeping brood.
Scaling one challenge after another...
each time down the other side she runs.
In living color,
her skin is weathered,
eyes somber,
those smiles banished for safe-keeping
to beautiful porcelain perfume bottles.
Like the faded scents from within
each expression of tenderness is released in a story
floating on the veil of his memory
of the Lady in the Pictures...now gone.
Originally published in Sixty-seven Pages from the Heart
Suzanne S. Austin-Hill, Ph.D., native New Yorker and Florida resident since 1980, is a retired, internationally recognized mathematics educator. She is the mother of two and grandmother of six. Her photographs have been exhibited and sold at numerous shows in the Tampa Bay area. She has written one hundred-plus poems, many of which have been published and have received recognition at the state and national levels. Her first book of poetry, Sixty-seven Pages from the Heart, was published in December, 2019 by Kindle Direct Publishing. Suzanne was a contributing author in the anthology, TattleTALES (2014, smashwords.com).