TRACES SPRING 2016 | Page 27

Evasive days

Is that my little girl?

Who is this boy who has grown so tall?

How is it that I have missed their lives?

Was it not yesterday when they were so small?

All of a sudden, my son can’t hear my words.

My daughter is kept busy by her music.

All of a sudden, I’m all by myself.

All alone, I don’t think I can do it.

No more monsters under beds,

No more kissing them goodnight.

No more Super Mom.

I can’t ensure that everything will be alright.

They’re so cynical, so hardened by the world.

I can’t convince them of anything anymore.

I can’t tell them I love them and tell them I mean it.

I ask them about their day and they greet me with slammed doors.

When did she grow to be a beauty?

When did time take them away?

Please, someone tell me what happened to my babies.

When did “10 years from now…” become today?

Mahogany Martin