Words are superfluous
They roll off my tongue
Like the sweat on a labourer's back
Toiling in the midday sun.
Over and over words failed me
When I first held you on my breast
Unimagined pain, unbridled joy
As you wailed your first little breath.
Words were never adequate
Watching you evolve
From tiny steps to hands that let go
Rippled images that quickly dissolve
Yet my words reached you
I feel them in your heady laugh
Sharp and warm, there were a lot of those
Yet I wonder, were they enough?
You wait for my words
You are certain they will be there
Another throw of hands, another shrug
This mother 'wisdom', another lecture.
But words tire me now
They strip bare this old soul
Forever searching this weary heart
For words that will keep you whole.
I wish I had the magic words
That would keep you forever safe
But I only have only the words I left unsaid
Silence to heal when life will chafe.
Go then, I hold no words for you
Content to watch you take flight
For fly you must and fly you will
On wings that will carry you through the night.
