For my eldest son on Mothers Day:
Baby boy can I hold you?
Can I help you as you cry?
Come lay your head beside me
And place your hand in mine.
Baby boy can I touch you?
Can you come here and sit?
Before you run away from me
Please stay with me a bit.
Baby boy you are no longer
You now stand up so tall
Your features have changed so much
You don’t reach for me when you fall.
My boy you are a man now
So sure of yourself and grown
You’ve found a place in the world
And made that spot your own.
Sometimes I stare at your face
Search it for the boy i knew
I once kissed those tears and held you tight
– the child i gave everything to.
My son, my hands are withered
My face has found its lines
But still I remember clearly
That moment you first opened your eyes.
One day you will understand
Why I am the way I am
One day you’ll watch me close my eyes
And it will be you holding my hand.
Until then please humour me
While I write poems and kiss your cheeks
I am your mummy always
while time it slowly creeps.
