Prologue: My mother's flower path

Spring. My mother is a brightly ribboned maypole ; My mother is a crescent moon ; My mother holds me like Mary holds Jesus

Summer: My mother flies with Superwoman ; My mother is an orange hibiscus in a brown coffee cup ; My mother is a miraculous bamboo

Fall: My mother is a driftwood ballerina ; My mother is a bottle of extra virgin olive oil ; My mother is a silver-wrapped piece of Wrigley's Spearmint chewing gum

Winter: My mother is a Harry Winston diamond ; My mother is a star navigator ; My mother is an Easter Bunny in a white confectioner's egg.