Mother-Daughter Conversation

She calls from a thousand
miles away. Instead of wandering
through our usual thickets
of hello-how-are-you-how-is-your-life
our voices sound light and clear,
without the dim static
of doubt and hesitation.
We ride our telephone horses
toward each other, not stumbling,
not having to dismount and look
for another way in, and she says
you’ve always been my model
for feminism, for justice; now
you’re my role model for compassion
and I can only pause and say
thank you, recalling the tough survival days
and the love that rode through
so many years to arrive, finally, here.