She Sleeps

on my mother when she was in the hospital

She is asleep now,
I wonder if she feels any pain.

I look out the window
into the dreary seen below.
Rain, much needed
but unwelcome today.

I leave her to
wander the shops
below, mainly to excuse
my mind.

It was only
a minor surgery, but
I worry still. That is
my role in this family
the worrier.

I return to her,
she is still asleep.
I watch the little
lines on the blue machine.

I know she hears me
so I let her know I am back.

She has been so strong
for so long and now
she sleeps.

I remember being younger
and hating her, only
to relish her now.

Where would we be
without her love in our lives?
The true understanding
only a mother can give.

She has excused
so many of my hostilities
without a second thought.

I notice the tremors in her
legs and again wonder if
she is in pain.

She is strong though
and for now she sleeps.