Her Life

The machine keeping my mother alive
has an odd swoosh sound as it pumps

I stand listening, watching her eyes flutter

Memories flooding my mind

I try to push the bad memories away,
as there are so many

Mom wanted a different life from the one she led

She proclaimed it each time her children annoyed her

Perhaps why I’m the only one here

I watch her face, still beautiful after years of stress

Maybe she should have had that life she desired

She wanted to travel and see the world

Her hidden fashion magazines fueled her desires

She would whisper stories of grandiose people and places as she read

It was always clear, she didn’t want to be here

Here with the children she bore and tried on occasion to raise

Here with a man who had many demands and little compassion

Here in this life she lived with total regret

As the swoosh sound continued, and the doctors stood by waiting

I bent down to kiss her cheek for the first time in my life

Heaven is grand and fashionable mother

I whispered oh so softly

It will be everything you’ve ever dreamed of

And none of us will be there