Child of Mine

She remained
emotionally brittle,
like a pane
of cracked glass
that would break
with the next impact.

That year had been an
inescapable
terrorizing
roller coaster ride.
Determined to comprehend
the happenings
kept her driven.

Two children gone,
both had been fragile.
Raising a son
with total devotion;
setting limits,
showing good examples,
her love taught him well.

He is sincere,
bright,
uncomplicated,
any parent's pride.
Her raven haired beauty,
raised by others,
denied by her father,
grew in wounding confusion.

Her knowledge
of the truth
was nearly too late.
Sleuthing for honesty,
she confronted
the woman she knew
was her mother.

Guilt ridden with fear;
they needed bonding.
Her child felt deserted,
her mother felt guilty
too many decades.
Gentle,
kind,
spirited,
yet insecure;
fearing anyone
dessert her again;

they began to travel
a prickly path.
Loving was easy,
crashing down walls
disastrous.
A battle of wills,
a siege.
Saying "NO",
an unfathomable thought.

The mother finally
stood her ground,
this young woman
needed redirecting.
She learned to say,
"NO",
Peace within their souls
arrived.

How do you love
a person who fears
loss of affection?
How do you get through
the fences she'd built?
Difficult to love,
in the end,
able to breathe,
forgive.

The cloudy,
cracked,
brittle,
pane of glass,
no longer exists
for either woman.
Light reaches their hearts,
as bleeding tears
forgive the past.

sjo/jazz