(Soon to be published in a collection of poems and essays,
"I Remembered in the Night Your Name")
Our children are the skin that goes beyond us
Our mothers, the deep interior
Deeper than we can see
Even later, after they are gone
Inside us, making us comfortable
Making us sleep through the night
We end up patting down their covers
In their last illness
And asking if there is something
They need before we leave
And then we can't leave the room
Can never draw apart
The lines get blurred
We find ourselves mothering
Those who mothered us
We have fallen into not knowing
Who we are to each other
Who leads and who follows
Who cares for and who curls up
To be cared for
When she's gone
There's no one standing between you
And Eternity
But the love is so strong
You know she will cross the lines
If she has
To save you
