Pom-poms and twine  
on table untouched 
 
Red yarn, 
cold and fibrous  
 
I should have come    
 
Regret tries to darken  
Legacy too bright  
 
Too many memories 
to ponder in spite  
 
Your words, not like oceans  
not drowning in prose  
 
But open, inviting  
mother's linen clothes  
 
You taught me to give  
my eyes to the world  
 
The lens of my rhymes  
your hands on my pen  
 
I press onto paper  
and still I can feel  
 
Calloused yet centered  
guidance, ever real 
 
Our voices may crack 
yet we smile today  
 
Leave the cold and the blue for 
your warm, Red Beret  
 
In honor of Flo Oy Wong — Poet, artist, activist and beloved grandmother.