(a villanelle for my mother Shirley)
by Cecil Smith
Hello Mother are you really there?
I hear a voice but it is dark as night,
A Mother's love does not fail or err.
A cut, a scrape, a bandage will repair,
As bedtime nears then out goes the light,
Hello Mother are you really there?
Gently nudged from out the nest we share,
I spread my wings uncertain in my flight,
A Mother's love does not fail or err.
I see her now in my child's eyes and hair,
Trying my best, it's hard to get things right,
Hello Mother are you really there?
The roles are reversed, now she needs care,
Eyes are empty where they once glowed bright,
A Mother's love does not fail or err.
One moment longer, at the stone I stare,
No clouds this day, the Sun casts warmth in light,
Hello Mother are you really there?
A Mother's love does not fail or err.
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