I never understood the those left behind
Until I became one.
Trust and love are live in the dictionary then
And loneliness presses in like the cold, empty depth of a well.

But when I was abandoned, no one counted on me
Like the little ones whose mothers struggle
With their pain and have to keep moving…

They wear a mask through the day and have shoulders to carry
The load of two and they cannot falter
Lest the small ones fear and suffer the loss of
Of all that was left.

But at night the mask is off and the dark void
Fills places where pieces of life are missing.
Love is gone, the bed is empty, the money gone and
No one is there for warmth.

I never knew that part, but I know one who did
And she is strong in all the broken places,
Though how I'll never know.

And you who read this and suffer, know that she
Lives in your mirror if only you look.