Moms, of course, as everyone knows,
pinch your cheeks and tickle your toes.
They “ooh” and they “aah”; you’re one perfect star,
when all the time, what you really are
is a Freshman off to the dorm!
Then comes the day when you’re late for the train,
off for the office, pressure and strain,
when in your head you hear the refrain:
“Now, dear, get your boots on. It’s going to rain.”
The voice of someone who cares.
Last night my daughter sat down with me,
upset, distraught, as I could see,
“I don’t think I’m smart like all the rest.
I try. I really do give it my best.
I do wish Grandma was here.”
The road has been long, not always straight.
Age has been kind, but the hour is late.
All the grandchildren gather around my bed.
I pinch their cheeks and pat their sweet heads,
like someone else used to do.
I’m told there’s a place where we all go to meet.
I don’t know where, nor the name of that street,
but when I arrive and pass through the gate
she’ll be waiting right there…it’s never too late:
“Did you brush your teeth today?”
“Yes, Mom. I did.”
Sonoran Desert Writer 