1My elbows are numb

from leaning on them, looking at you,

looking back at me with the

pensive eyes of a lover.

My lips are tired

from a lover’s hard labor.

The toils are immense

but the pay is enormous.

The lightbulb flickers

with the exhausted energy

of a bitter mother,

watching her children grow old,

grow distant from her,

grow closer to a love

that will only draw them

away from her selfish reach.