long embers in the night

my mother died five years ago
i still see her in my head
she comes to me in dreams sometimes
and tells me art is never dead

she sees the world in angles
in patterns and reflections
she is laughing in my dreams
and wears her crown in scarlet

is she alive inside me now?
am i the island? the needle and thread?
am i the old man in his garden?
i go looking for the mirror

i am still her child
with fingers dressed in paint
her hair is gold, the sun behind her
and there's a maple seed upon my nose

i don't know what time it is
but i know we still have time

who lives and breathes
holds the universe in their hand
read this and be reborn