A Mother's Night Music
by Leslie P. Garcia
The children snore.
Lying awake at night,
Listening
To the indrawn breaths and sighs,
Memory tugs.
I remember
Other nights, clutching the baby
To my heart,
Hoping
The love went through and pierced
The lurking demons
Ravaging her breath.
Then, too, I laid awake long nights,
Afraid
The morning sun
Would warm
An empty crib.
But God and the years
Abolished
That moment�s terror;
The motor purr and coughs of sleep
Are reassuring hymns of night.
And though their lives
Are not finished,
Not mine�
Just rough works
Awaiting
Master strokes�
The symphony of snores
And smiles evoked by unknown dream
Are what there is of me
That�s good through time.
Leslie Garcia
