Living on Hope

Anxious thoughts run in circles
Carving deep ruts into their paths
As my brain is left tender and sore.

This burden looks so ordinary,
But the new normal feels fulfilling
In a way that makes me crave more.

I want to know sleepless nights
With a sick child or last minute school projects
Just to get up and face the work day, after all.

I want to know the milestones with fervent love
From the first day of kindergarten
To hearing giggles at a sleepover echoing through the walls.

I want to know the midnight tiptoe
From the comfort of my bed, down the hall,
Peeking to make sure my baby is safe and sound.

The ways I have failed as a mother haunt me
Day and night they tell me I am not enough,
But the love in my daughter's eyes stubbornly reminds me of all I have found.