At the end of day, a pile
of laundry waits in the corner
I feed them to the machine
toss them into the dryer
embrace the warm and clean ones
into my open arms, sniffing the scent
that reminds me of new motherhood
of the joy and wonder
of the time long gone
Thank the fresh scent dryer sheet
for the sweet memory
leads to the woman who birthed me
on the day of long gone December,
the serene face as Virgin Mary’s
chides me for staying up so late
I’ll get a taller tree this year
just so it’ll reach the women
in heaven a few feet closer

(by Byung A. Fallgren)