We have been learning to be strong little one
As the wind and rain have found no pattern against the windowpane It has been me and you
Together
Who listen to the howl of humanity’s suffering outside our window. When you first smiled
My own disappeared willingingly behind a mask
Your first words
Were for me only
As we are alone now
But they are all the more precious
As a word in joy has the weight of a precious metal in this time. In the endless darkness you nurse
Pulling life from my body into yours
What kind of world have I brought you into?
My tears tremble silently down
Upon your round perfect cheek
A beach, a ride in a grocery cart
The library, a grandma
Everything I took for granted
Before your birth
Of those things at least I could offer you
I thought.
I knew nothing of the storm that would come so soon after you were born And through the sleepless nights of your new life
I found dread knotted into my new existence as your mother. All I knew was that
I must protect the tiny pulsing light of your spirit
And I will
I promise you sweet innocent
My greatest love
Our ancestors.
Whoever and wherever they found themselves
Survived the cold, the pain, the loss
To bring me and then you to this place
Our storm will end
Someday
And when that time comes
I will take you by the hand
And show you how beautiful the world outside our window is.
