Tuesday, April 23, 2013

I See You


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My son is 13 tomorrow, so this is my NaPoWriMo Day 23 poem. Technically, you could say that I followed the PAD prompt for Day 23, though I was going to write this anyway.


I see you
In the car
That day before the school started
Your eyes wide with fear.
I see you
In your room
Whispering to your toy puppy
Do you still tell him your secrets?
You are three years old now
Learning the alphabet from fridge magnets
Asking endless questions.
You are sitting in my lap
Fiddling with my earrings,
I have just come back
From a trip.
Now it’s winter and you are
Playing with your toy computer
Getting all the numbers right again
The penguins dance on the screen
And you clap your hands.
You are laughing
As you watch cartoons.
You are in the kindergarten, crying,
As I leave you there
You are crying as they cut
The umbilical cord, but stop
When they give you to me
I wish I still had that power over you.
I see you
Now
You are a teenager
You can open a Facebook account
Or get an email of your own.
You never spoke much
I have to feel you with my stomach
It is scary to have that ability 
And there must be
Something I can do
To keep you safe.

2 comments:

  1. Powerful poem about being a mom with a son..I identify with this poem..& you.Grandchildren double the love & fear to be safe.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you. It is scary to know that I will be even more afraid for my grandchildren.

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