She Still Calls

My mother keeps a garden by the back fence. Tomatoes mostly.

Some beans on wire. She's out there every morning, with her knees

in the dirt. Says it keeps her hands busy since Dad died. The phone rings

twice a week, always Tuesday and Friday. She asks if I'm eatin'.

If the furnace works. I tell her I'm fine. That work's been

steady. She still calls. Like I'm 10 years old. Might forget my

coat. She still calls. Her voice the same as it was before.

Last winter, I lost my job at the plant. Didn't tell her