Pepsi & Peanuts

It was my mother’s favorite:  
A bottle of Pepsi  
and a little bag of Planter’s peanuts  
 
She would dump the bag  
into the bottle  
after taking a few sips  
to lower its contents  
 
I don’t know why I remember  
things like this  
But always wonder  
if it’s because she’s with me  
at that particular moment  
 
A few days after cleaning
the yard from a storm  
I saw something glassy  
protruding from the mud  
 
As I dug, I realized  
it was a vintage Pepsi bottle  
the one with swirls  
introduced the year I was born:  
1959, and changed in 1978—  
the year she passed on  
( I looked it up  )  
 
There are forces greater than us  
always willing to confirm  
there is no coincidence  
and our initial thought  
to be the correct one  
 
I would say I cleaned it up  
and use it as a vase  
for the green thumb  
she bequeathed  
with her last breath  
 
But I think it’s pretty obvious  
that she never really left  
~