I hear you now
From within, so deeply hidden you had no chance of being heard until now
I thought maybe you’d flown away with the night and my innocence
Or maybe you’d been crushed by the weight of his body on mine
I held a funeral for you inside and accepted the loss
And then, one day, there you were; and at first
I could not recognize you through the warp and woof that my soul became
Here you are now
And I found you, and though you were unrecognizable to me
I knew and loved you at first sight with every fiber of my being
I’d never seen anything more heart-breakingly beautiful in my life
I drew your little burned body into my arms, your flesh black and peeling
Raw, red skin angering through the seared pain of the past
I loved you until the dead flesh fell away, until you pinked up and began to flourish
In the fore of my heart I let you pick your own room and decorate it pink and kitty cats
Let the other girls invite you to play and read you stories
I gave you hot baths and fed you warm milk and cookies, told you I was putting you first now
And I realized that you were more me than any me I had ever been before or would ever be
Now you are here
And you are my everything, you are the key, finally – the center of us all
You carry my truth, my play, my freedom, my deepest self-song
Now I am here
The parent who will protect you from that kind of hurt ever happening again
The mother who will love you like you are my everything
The woman who sings a self-song so beautiful it makes me cry to hear it
I hear you now
For Suzanne, with Thanks & Love
Inspired by The Daily Post Daily Word Prompt: dormant
Powerful poem of courage, love and grace!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you very much. It’s an important one for me, so that means a lot.
LikeLiked by 1 person
God, this was so beautiful. I had tears in my eyes. Thank you for showing us courage and strength in the face of a loss so immense.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much for reading and sharing.
LikeLike
You’re most welcome 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Chilling and powerful poem. I think it speaks to many of ‘our’ generation. Richly textured, so well written.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, thank you. It is maybe the most truthful, necessary thing I have written to date. Thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Agreed, in that I have only seen what I have of your work.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I meant important to my heart – necessary to me…hope that came across in my reply…
LikeLiked by 1 person
It did.
LikeLiked by 1 person