Such big steps for little shoes,
Little shoes
Which are Velcro and scuffed,
Wrapped around the spongey toes
Whose baby softness I used to squish against my lips.
You put on your ‘first day’ shirt,
The one you picked out all by yourself.
The one that cloaks the belly
That used to expand and deflate
Over my bare chest
In the middle of the night.
You’re ready I whisper quietly to myself.
Not entirely sure which one of us I’m talking to.
Your smile, brimming with excitement these last few days,
Shrinks subtly into apprehension as we reach the tarmac.
But the corners of your mouth still curl upwards,
Because you are brave and this is what big kids do.
The gloss in your eyes mirrors my own,
I blink to keep it in place,
To spare my cheeks,
Because I can also be brave and this is what mommies do.
I let go of the fingers that once
Reached for me in the moonlight
From the sway of our rocking chair.
Bye Mom
I love you too
And I watch those little shoes
Take able, timid steps
Through the red-brown double doors.
I linger
And stare
Because behind your oversized backpack
I can see the shadow of my baby
Disappear into a whole new world.
Comments