LESSONS (because I spent the day with my mother and we shared some random memories and now…this.)

my mother, i savor, as she inches older,
i think of the things she taught me way back,

like how to be braver when lifting the boulder,
like how to envision the strength that I lack,

how even if I am the glazer and molder
i can’t shape a life lived without a crack,

to know deep the pride of the struggling soldier,
to walk like a king, though treated as jack,

how it’s never safer to settle and smolder,
and airing out anger can avoid attack,

to speak like a razor, and hug like a holder,
to care and to cut such remarkable slack,

how it’s best to wager the chips on my shoulder,
and no matter what, to always bet on black,

to love like a laser, file hate in a folder
and leave it a pointless and pitiful stack,

my mother, my savior, as she inches older,
her weight and her warmth grow thinner and colder,
i think of the things she taught me way back,
i think of these things to keep me on track