My Mother: A Solstice
Location
I saw a smuge of eyeliner
on her sunned, freckled cheek
I wish I didn't have to watch her shimmy
sighing hard
into her jeans
or smearing her lipstick
on a dry dark mouth
knowing she is blue enough for two
I'm not afraid to say I'd change how she sees herself
I want her steady with usual morning bravado
and I am tired of all the cigarette smoke
fake smiles at passerby
and learning to use her lips to lie
I'd change the way she acts
like a solstice
holding her breath
and forgetting to laugh
on long nights
Again I look at my mother
turning in the mirror
Knowing she must change
She too is here in abundance
and something must be said for it.