Hold Tight

A sketch I did just the other day from a photograph taken 8 or so years ago
... seems like yesterday.

Hold Tight

There is something so endearing
about my little boy's silhouette,
delicate neck above narrow shoulders
and waist dwarfed by shorts
that flood past knees
and shade bare, dirt-dusted feet.

Last vestigates of pudginess
cling to lengthening limbs,
which increasingly take him far
from my protective reach.

The lake is deep, tree roots
snake in and out along the steep bank.
I warn him to watch his step,
"I will, Mom"; try not to hover
yet it's second nature.  Sees me coming,
he runs, I shout, he laughs.

The darkness of the water scares me,
of course, he's oblivious,
fascinated as he is looking for turtles,
fish, dragonflies, and such.

Notice Mother Duck's having trouble
keeping her own swiftly growing chicks inline;
my mind scampers to my other five
(check text messages, see if they need me)
call my youngest to me, spread out blanket,
hold tight to this moment, this little boy.

by Margaret Bednar, January 7, 2020

This is posted with "dVerse Poets Pub - Meeting the Bar - Critique & Craft - Soliloquy"

Abeyance

Abeyance

I trace his spine with my finger,
along elastic-waisted pants threatening to slide past slim hips,
trace up spindly arms, over narrow shoulders to the back of his neck.
Smile as I flick my finger over wayward hair frolicking with lake's breeze,
Blue by his side, the pair silent; a rare occurrence for this boisterous pair.

This photograph, a treasury of feelings; of a young mother not comprehending
how quickly her sons would grow, daughters outgrow dolls,
how soon her mother's hand would be empty;
and the family dog, age, not able to keep up with his kids.

Shrouded in memories, I want to tell her not to waste a moment,
immerse herself in each day, laugh, play, hug them 1000 times,
10,000 times.  Soak in still moments; dishes and laundry can wait.

My mother's heart wishing I could do it all over again,
knowing what I know now.

by Margaret Bednar, July 25, 2019

This is linked with "Imaginary Garden with Real Toads - Sanaa's Challenge - I Like for You to be Still".  Use the reference to Naruda's title in a poem.