Your mother is dying,
Not desperate, but rather,
Her time is near.
She is Mom,
And you need to be near too.
She needs to remember
Your first bicycle,
And when, if you wanted
Your pants ironed better,
She decided it was time for you
To learn to iron.
She needs to remember that great camping trip
When you burned your hand wondering
If the stove pipe was hot.
When you came home drunk with something to write,
After your first real girlfriend
Found someone else.
She found the space for you to write
And a little more wine.
She never said a word.
You need to remember that too.
You both need to laugh.
Your brother is being a dick,
Which he always could be pretty good at.
But Mom is looking like a puppy,
Looking at a pile of poop on the floor,
Not remembering that she did it.
And it is not okay,
But how to change it?
He’s wound tight too,
And just doesn’t see.
You’re 1500 miles from
Whatever home you have,
And spent the money for your daughter’s first car
Getting here, and it had to happen.
It is important.
And your ex took her by a car lot today
And bought her a new car
So much better than you could have.
Your ex was always a lot better at money than you,
And not too long on co-ordination,
Or accidents.
And it is really stupid.
But Darling Daughter does have the car she needs.
It felt like your last chance with your daughter.
Maybe it was.
Being here is important,
Maybe she’ll understand,
Someday.
Mom does need to laugh,
To step away from her fears,
You can help.
And you, you’re in the middle of writing new material
For a new record.
Ripping the rhythms and phrases
From an awkward life.
Angles and thoughts,
Tensions and releases,
Which connect,
Which are real, fully real,
Fully life.
Which played
For people who don’t care
Before, or after,
do care now.
Angles and phrases
From life, which are real,
And are the best you’ve ever done.
Picasso said something like:
“your ability is your gift,
Giving it away is your purpose.”
Which is one thing to read
And another to live.
So…why would you protest,
And write,
And drink wine,
When you are not all that surprised?
You simply haven’t learned
To make it different.
It is your life.