My Mother was a Pisces. A mutable water sign,
and, as such, she was extremely impressionable &,
at times, she could be introverted and impractical.
She was born in the last deacon, however, fairly
close to the cusp of Aries, and, occasionally, she
would manifest the negative aspects of that fire
sign: she could be argumentative and volatile in
the extreme. This was usually manifested in her
interactions with my Grandmother and each of
my three younger sisters. Outside of the family,
this tendency was employed intuitively, imagina-
tively in discussions with politicians and clergy:
unlike many Pisceans, she was not easily led by
the directives of the above. She could be markedly
rational but, also, employed unnecessary diatribe.

Irrespective of this infrequent dive into fire, she
existed, more regularly, in a compassionate and
gentle aura of dream-like reflection. Sometimes,
these states could be instructive, and, at others,
simply enormously capricious and amusing. On
more than one of these cerebral vacations, I had
entered a room to find her conversing excitedly
with one of her other selves. I didn't interrupt
these episodes very often; I usually just sat down
and listened. I learned a great deal about my
Mother's mind and about my own potential in
the rather active, if silent, act of observation. I
learned that a mind unleashed can inform one
in a manner decidedly different than one which
is a slave to the societal demands of rational or
imposed reality. My Mother dreamed at night
as well, but these dreams were focused primarily

on spirituality. Some of these night dreams were
mystical and prophetic. Others were delusional.
In any event, on any level, they were compelling.
I am a Scorpio, also a water sign, but fixed: my
nature is naturally darker than was that of my
Mother. My Mother's ruling planets: Jupiter &
Neptune. Mine: Pluto & Mars. She understood
but was, still, disturbed by my frequent visits to
the murky depths of Pluto's underworld. She was
disturbed by the fact that I make bronze idols
and weapons. She tried to convince me to focus
on beauty, peace, and light. I frequently argued
that darkness could also be peaceful & beautiful.
Nevertheless, these conversations could devolve
into hilarity. Ultimately, Pisces and Scorpio are,
generally, thoroughly compatible because they do
share a predilection for metaphysical reflection.

So, the requiem which follows is not a dirge
proper. My sorrow was thoroughly expressed,
privately, the last six months of her long life.
My sisters Jan and Joanna, a Taurus and a
Libra, respectively, assumed almost heroic re-
sponsibility for her care and well-being. They
told me that she was exhibiting signs of early
dementia. I asked them if Mother was being
sedated. The answer was. No! The medicine,
the antibiotics, confuse her. She floats in and
out of cognition. Don't expect much when you
see her. She's fading. It's very, very sad. I
found this to be the case on my initial visits.
This contrapuntal exercise records part of an
exceptional two hour visit I had with Mother
shortly before her death. It might have been
titled, differently, as "Questions and Answers".

It could be said that, despite her sometimes
argumentative nature, my Mother lived her late
life in pursuit of spiritual perfection. This can
be appreciated with greater clarity in retrospect,
because, as she aged, she attempted to impose
her interpretation of various religious texts on
not only her children but on strangers as well.
She was frequently (particularly with strangers)
successful in this enterprise, and, undoubtedly
affected many lives with her compassion and
sensitive warmth. The fact is that she was, in
some sense, chosen for this individual mission.
The following poem reflects very little about my
Mother's development along her spiritual path.
It was written to close the chapter on my own
grief, and to express my conviction that, at 86,
she had near total recall from past to present.