Mother

Here it is the time  
Of climbs
By the side
Of men who reach
With clank  
Of armored  
Coats
gruff suits of musk
And little afterthought
 
But you reach  
Through the smoke
As if it were only dusk
And the twilight of it
Would be spread by  
Love  

(We breathe it in and your grin)
 
I might shower in your perfume
Have it sprinkle like rain  
To think of you often
 
(Again and again)  
And remember  
To not hide my heart away
No shelter from life
could be worth
Avoiding its pain  
 
I have seen you take life  
Its shrapnel  
Plinking  
Again and again...  
again and again
 
And breathe even deeper  
Through the daggers dig
And stand higher  
Still
To take the fall
 
What balance hides in those cheeks
And the tender time  
Slung below your eyes
They show your age
Your beauty and wisdom  
 
With each blink  
That sets you down
I rise comfortably there  
And prepare myself to hold you
As you have held my journey in your care
 
You grant me this  
By your grace
You teach me this  
In your every way
 
(A chorus because it would please you)
 
My Mother you’ve sung
Of love and death
Mother you’ve rocked me to sleep  
My Mother you’ve whispered my shame away
And allowed me my secrets to keep
 
(An afterthought and prayer)
 
I lay down tonight  
A vision of you  
Moonlight on your knees
A soft touch of breeze  
To ease you from the remnants  
Of this long summers day
And know I would care  
To hear you strum your guitar
Sit beside you and sing
A song of the hills
And would know its worth  
The scars I might find there  
The pain they might bring  
 
And watch you whistle out to the black dog
His pant as he heels at your side
His sniff of home  
Un loitering  
And I would understand his condition  
Completely  
His look of peace in chocolate eyes
That transcends mere loyalty