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I wrote a version of this poem a few years ago for my dear friend, Rhoda.

I revised the poem upon her death. She was 94 when it was originally written. Rhoda died this week, close to her 96th birthday. It was a sudden death, even though I knew it was coming.

Though her health had been failing in the last few weeks, her mind was forever sharp. I visited her usually once a week in the last few years of her life, listening to her stories and being reminded of how important relationships are.

People want to be heard and have someone listen to their stories and know that they matter and that, somehow, their lives matter.

I loved this woman. I connected with her even though she was old enough to be my mother—she was my soul.

Mother, even though we didn’t have similar backgrounds, you were my soul friend, my soul sister, my mentor.

A few things our friendship taught me with her regrets and her wisdom:

>> Fear is the enemy. Don’t be afraid, and if you are, do it anyway. No regrets.

>> Life is short. See your own beauty and the beauty in others.

>> Allow yourself to be vulnerable, and be open to possibilities.

>> Love yourself and let others in. Allow them to love you, even when you think, deep down, that you don’t deserve it.

>> Be kind to yourself and others. The need to be accepted is universal.

>> Be generous with your time; a small amount of time is precious to an isolated person. Loneliness is universal.

SOUL MOTHER

(Rhoda Kane)

Soul Mother, Soul Friend, Soul Sister,

You are beautiful inside and out.

You held me tight, and you saw me.

You felt my pain, my deepest fears, and you loved me anyway.

There is no time nor age between us;

Our love for each other is deep and unexplainable,

A soulful connection from another place, another time perhaps,

Neither important

As our love for each other is real as the day dawning.

Our differences seem like oceans apart,

As the moon beaming in the sky, unexplainable unimaginable love.

Soul Mother, Soul Friend, Soul Sister,

You connected to the inner part of me,

The good the bad.

You looked into my soul and saw my deepest loneliness;

You soothed me with your presence in my life.

I grieved you when you lived,

And I grieve you now that your body is gone.

The essence of your soul touch will live in me forever

until I no longer exist on this earth,

Soul Mother, Soul Friend, Soul Sister.

~