"we agreed on this..."

we didn't always agree, she and I,
she wanted him to date others, I wanted
him to love me, and me alone.  she wanted
him to travel, I wanted him to stay nearby
and let me be his world.  She wanted him
to spread his wings, I wanted him to use
them to shelter me from all that frightened
me and made me feel vulnerable...

we were young, so much younger than we
knew at the time.  younger than springtime
in a lifetime measured by a year.  we were
moony-eyed optimists in frayed bell-bottoms
and sandals, with flowers in our hair...ideals
as gauzy as the peasant shirt she helped me
embroider with daisies, and peace signs and
the word "imagine" up one sleeve..

but we agreed on this...he was smart and good
and deserved to be loved, that raspberries
should be eaten warm from the vine, that
children were our future, and that nothing
beat a perfect baking soda biscuit as the foundation
for strawberry shortcake in early June....

she was feisty, and strong-hearted, and
never gave up...or in...she taught me how to
cut shortening into flour, sprinkle ice
water onto the pea-sized bits, and to
mix it altogether without toughening the dough
by too much handling...i think of her whenever
I bake biscuits and watch the juice from
fresh strawberries infuse a perfect shortcake
with summer...and wonder if she ever knew
how much i longed for her approval...
and acceptance...