(For my friend, L.)
I heard the shakiness in your voice
When you called me tonight
Despite the lifetime abuse
She was still your mother
A staple in your life
You told me, five years ago today
Your father had died, and you had cried
Paddling the sunny river, you said, “I cried,
Because he was never the father I needed”
And tonight your mother might not be alright
I’d seen the stress when you talked about
The Sunday visits at her house
The cruel remarks sucked you dry
That you had to take the next day off work at times
Still, every week you went!
You’d told me some stories
And I remembered once uttering,
“I would’ve killed her if I were you
Or left and never
To return!”
You’d probably always been hoping
It’d be better one day!
I wondered if ever
Your mother had realized
That you loved her so!
The world would’ve been a brighter place
For the both of you
If only she’d ever realized
During the eighty plus years of her life
The shakiness in your voice tonight./.
Dec 25, 2019
Gnocchi Artyst
