I’m a woman so I know
what she wants you to remember is
the woman she used to be
the prankster the flirt the gymnast
she wants you
when you look at her
to see the girl in the rain
in braids
invincible
Tho she is mother
she is woman, she is girl
And just before she heard the baby cry she was imagining how she would do her hair for prom
up or down
She is thin and underdeveloped underneath that oversized formula stained tshirt
She is agile and eager behind that tired, uninterested frown
She closes her eyes, smells the bouquet you handed her and remembers
the wedding
She looks up and sees the underside of her mother’s chin
her mother’s grin
kissing her, thanking her for the macrame owl that Troop 422 made for all their mothers
In the mirror she is mother
but in her mind’s eye she is woman
she is a girl
they blend together and
she wants you to remember
like she remembers
the her behind Mother
