So I go back
to those early days of anguish
when I didn’t know
how to make it right for you
When the hurts to you
brought back stabs of childhood wounds
which my defenses couldn’t cover
as they couldn’t shelter you
But now
I bring a new perspective
Something that I hadn’t seen before:
The current running through you — a light-river,
The roots that held you firmly to your source
much deeper than a child’s tight clinging
to a helpless mom —
comprising a most formidable force
If I had known of this
I wouldn’t have been anguished
If I can know it now, we both will be
unburdened of imagining you damaged
so moving forward whole, beloved, free.
©Wendy Mulhern
October 27, 2011