Christine Lavin My Sister Mary & My Mother
My sister Mary loved visiting mom
Would take her out for a ride
They both enjoyed the open road
And gently rolling countryside
So different from the nursing home
Where she'd sit in a chair
Thinking that she'd just arrived
And wanting to get away from there
They'd drive past farms and sometimes stop
Buy fruit and fresh picked corn
Gather sunflowers and wild roses
Being careful with the thorns
But most of all Mom loved to sit
Quiet by the lake
Eating vanilla ice cream
No need for cakе
On one lovely sunny day
My sister Mary and my mothеr
Were enjoying time spent on the shore
Simply with each other
When a giant osprey swooped on down
Right out of the blue
Dove feet first into the lake
The way that ospreys do
Emerged with a great big lake trout
Wriggling in its claws
My sister Mary and my mother watched it
Defying gravity's laws
Flapped its wings so hard
Struggling with the weight
Of a fish that no doubt now had
An elevated heart rate
My sister Mary and my mother
Witnessed this dramatic show
Nature in all its splendor
Beauty, wonder, woe
They watched the bird and wriggling fish
Disappear into the sky
Then my mother said
"I hope that fish had a dream to fly"
