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QuillOak

Free Verse · Poems About Mom

What She Left

by The QuillOak Editors

We looked for you everywhere those first weeks —

then found you everywhere after:

in the way I fold towels in thirds,

in my sister's laugh, your laugh,

in "wear a coat" said to my own children

in a voice that isn't quite mine.

You didn't leave us, Mom.

You dispersed —

into all of us, evenly,

the way you always shared.

Original poem © QuillOak — personal sharing is permitted.

Quick facts

Poem
What She Left
Poet
The QuillOak Editors
Length
10 lines
Form
Free Verse, Elegy
Themes
Poems About Mom, Grief, Family

Text, source & rights

A traceable edition

Original QuillOak text. Personal sharing is permitted; other reuse requires permission.

Author record
The QuillOak Editorstoday
Source record
QuillOak originalWhat She Left, authored for QuillOak by The Quillery
Display decision
Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record
Not recorded in the imported source
Text fingerprint
SHA-256 b96255a7c8b8f058
Editorial handling
Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
Jurisdiction-specific, never a worldwide claimRights policyReport a text or rights issue

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