Mother
When he went away and left you
He left me too
And we lived together
You and I
One woman one child
And I wanted to grow up
To love you both
But you’d come home
From a job that drained you
That made you curl up tight
Inside yourself
I knocked and I know
You tried to let me in
While he went away
And sent letters of love to me
And I cried to live with him
I didn’t understand
My best friend told me this
People say your mother
Has a chip on her shoulder
I didn’t understand
Believe me Mother
When I tell you
I don’t remember
That time in your life
When you were ill
When your legs were weak
And you used a cane
When your eyes saw double
And the threat of disease
That would waste you
Hung over us
A girl of fourteen
Awake awake whose eyes
Could see whose brain
Could think
But Mother I don’t remember
I just don’t remember
Mother
We are healed now
And the years between
Have made us friends
I need you Mother
When you die
No one else can care as much