Mothering
Mothered by Mothering
My mother missed
knowing me
unwilling to see beyond
what she didn't understand
I knew to do it differently,
not dismiss Bird's inclinations
instead unfailing, steady love
for who he is
not who I might want
him to be
His own beautiful
strange self
surface ragged
with the vagaries of suffering
but inside
stubborn, wise and deep
In learning to mother him
I mothered me