I want to talk about my mother
How she nurtured any helpless creature
that stumbled into her vision,
starved and unable to soar.
How she has endured crimson scratches
from sickened squirrels & starlings
for the sake of their
survival.
I want to talk about school
How it was too slow, too boring
for her impertinent teenage mind
How she was the brightest in the room
but favored darker places,
leaving the light behind.
I want to talk about beauty,
About the way her auburn hair shone with life
captivating the eyes of intrigued young men,
who were only to be met with rejection
and the diminishing sound of a boom-box
held high on her shoulders.
Eventually though, she found someone
that stayed in her mind longer than the rest
and she started to feel
protected.
No matter how much snow fell,
she was still warm.
Soon enough, those snowflakes started to melt
and he never came home;
Birthday, Anniversary, Valentine’s Day
But when he did, she always wondered
Will he stay?
I want to talk about pain
that even though you may think
it’s better
years after
she was still wasting away
suffocating in cigarette smoke,
drinking herself to death
in the damp, dark cold
I want to talk about fault
How no one should be blamed
Because sometimes you simply cannot salvage a
shattered relationship.
Because you will only slice yourself with
the shards.
No matter how hard you’ve held on
there comes a time
when you must wash your hands
of the ravaged waters,
of worry.
Talk strength
Despite being a mother of 7,
despite her tired eyes and sorrowful soul
Despite all the adversity
she’s encountered,
She is still beautiful.
How she raised us all with
love and care, teaching us right from wrong
and everything in between.
Talk age
How her feelings of the effects are evident
as she looks in the mirror with melancholy.
She stands unsteadily.
So I fix her flyaways,
stabilize her steps,
and tell her “I love you”
Because I do
She is more than this
She is wisdom, humor, courage
She is my mother
And I am so
grateful.