Sunday Service

She never missed a Sunday service
Eyes wide open, ears listening
Hoping for just one answered prayer
My sisters and I slept on the pews

The bills piled high
Food supply low
She struggled through the day
Cried over the sink after dinner


Alone
Burdened by children
She found refuge in romance novels
Long baths
She withdrew
Oh what she was missing
She knew


Her dresses were old
Her perfume faint but steady
I remember their faces
I felt ashamed
A basket of money
A box of tissue
On her knees
She smiled through the pain


We sang in the car on the way to the store