My Dear Son

With the clicks of the crowd's footsteps
Setting the rhythm for my restless heart,
I pressed onwards up the crosswalk
And wished to be elsewhere.

My thoughts were askew,
Scattered chaotically,
Like marbles on a tile floor.
But I promise I was sane.

Yet you were running,
As if completely gone from the world,
Not smiling, yet so carefree,
As your young little face hit my middle.

What a stoic child you were,
Not even gasping an "Ow"
When your pallid nose crinkled,
Before you peered to see your obstacle.

Your dulled-cobalt eyes saw me,
A mousy girl you'd never met before
Clad in, what else –
A black turtleneck and an insulated smile.

Both of us stood listening-deer still.
Our magnetic filaments connected.
But it was I who moved first,
And buckled my knees to see you clearly.

Now our eyes soared
On the same plane -
Sky-blue reflecting in lake-blue,
As we properly held our stares.

But soon my chest throbbed,
And I drew you closer to me,
Nestling in your blonde clouds
While you drowned in my stagnant waters.

Emotionless and static
You stood there in patience,
Allowing me my moment
Of pure motherly happiness.


My final squeeze on your back
Signaled my true thoughts,
And I asked you half-rhetorically,
"Would you like to stay with me?"

I could never leave you,
I knew that much to be certain.
So I took your hand in mine,
Without even knowing your name.