A Timely Passing

[kolemath]

(I'm not sure if she'll appreciate this -- for most of the family, English is not the first language. Still, it's yet another thing to offer, and I don't know how much time we have left -- such is why this is a little rushed. Critique especially welcome, not because I'm a masochist, but because, if I am offering this, this has to be at least competent.)

Driving home, the rains
foreshadowed that afternoon
by distant cracks of thunder
finall fell, as if
to match our tears. But no! Our God
wept only once.
That night, he was rejoicing,
watering his earth, granting his creatures since you capitalized 'God' above, probably should capitalize the pronouns here
new life, sweet mercy. this stanza strikes an interesting balance between the grief and celebration/renewal of death

Tita, heaven is the canopy
of the little grove behind
your sister's kitchen. The stars
are the blossoms of the dragonfruit trees,
the walls are the leaves, the foundations the suha fruit, minor nit but think on the consistency of the metaphor? different parts of nature symbolize different details of heaven; should a fruit be the foundation? seems like fruit would be something else: roots as foundation? that's a bit cliche but...
and the mansions of the hosts
the nests of the fire ants. to my understanding, 'hosts' as a biblical reference to war. fire ants do well to take this symbolism on
Cloaked in the red of bruises, you good word choice: 'cloaked' ..mysterious as death
who were once our sister, our aunt, our grandmother,
are now uplifted, are now crowned from cloaked to crowned, i like it
queen of the brood, mother of Zion. 'mother in' perhaps?

I know you've seen this before, to me, 'this' works. it's the grove behind the kitchen and, perhaps, heaven. i like a little ambiguity
perhaps when you were washing the dishes
after last month's fiesta, the one which celebrated
the founding of the barrio. That is why you don't weep. good matriarchal reference to barrio founding.
That is why God chose you. good last line, but the one preceding it confuses me a bit; of course she doesn't weep (in present tense); she's passed.

endearing without being to sentimental. i like it.