my mother

there is nothing
in this world
so wonderful
as you by my side
your palm
outstretched
my world yours to have
she said

back when her hands
were fuller than mine
but not as small
as they are now
i would line up our pointer fingers
and wonder when my reach
would be as far as hers

be good do good
she would say
every single morning
and that made sense
 i would still correct her though
but we both knew
there was no better way
 to say such a thing

this morning I noticed
how young she still is
made a wish and did some dishes
while she tried on different outfits
could see my mother
ten years ago
and thought about the irony
of all the shoes she has given me

mom has this way of showing up
in the middle of places
you would never expect to meet her
she says hello and laughs
and somehow doesn't get
any of the jokes exactly
and suddenly all of the jokes
are funnier because of her

a man will see her and turn around
fall so madly in her direction
she will politely catch them
let them down nicely
everywhere she goes
that same thing the entire time
you kind of want to be like
what? you've never seen a pretty girl before

mothers must see
us the same
way the light
sees the day
body of weight
releasing the passenger
they were carrying
creating a you

daughters and sons
my mother says
be good
to the ones who you love
do good
for the ones who love you
so there's nothing left to fret about
everyone is happy