10. Poem: Missing Parts

MISSING PARTS

My son, my son,
He has gone out into the world,
and I ponder now over my newly realized state:
I shall never be whole again.

Nor is any mother.
A part of her shall always be somewhere else--
as the wind which moans through the trees,
or the light which shines in the distance,
or the music which echoes on the ears of time.

By Nina (around 1975)

Photo of Lake George in NY by Nina

9. Poem by Nina - "The Newborn"

The Newborn

I have a little grandson,
He's just a little tyke,
All he does is eat and sleep,
What is there to like?

I like his ears, I like his nose,
I like his tiny little toes,
I like the way he moves his lips,
I like his tiny fingertips
I like his eyes, however posed,
But usually I find them closed.

I have a little grandson,
And why is he so fine?
Well, if I had to tell the truth -
It's just because he's mine.

By Nina, upon the birth of her first grandchild, 1995

8. Wisdom

All human wisdom

is summed up

in two words --

wait and hope.

-Alexandre Dumas