Not a friend, not a BFF, just a mom
Forgotten role,
A role unclaimed.
Don't stash your ***.
No *** in the hall.
I'm thirteen, you, the mom.
Be my example
Act like you care.
Don't hit me in the face.
Don't compete with me
I am just a kid
I hit you because you hit me.
Let me go to grandma's house.
You don't care.

We move through with a certain amount of pain.
We walk the plain of meaning.
Double edged words.
Sharing too much.
Too much imagination
Letting others see deep
Share a life never lived except in our head
Reality is ours.
Do we pinch love ones with recollections
Or keep them quiet inside?
Stay quiet.
Truth may pinch.
Don't pinch,
Otherwise remain unknown.

Old enough to drink.
She seemed naive.
Slow danced to old music.
Her long blonde hair.
Her skirt too short.
Her lips too full.
Out in cool night air
Curiosity leaned him toward her.
Lips met.
Stunned.
Did she know
She had an edge, daddy's little girl stung like a bee.
He pushed her back and walked away.
Too much trouble for too little play
She laughed out loud as he walked away.

Whispers falling all around.
Eyes staring with reproach.
How could it have been done that way?
Whispers caught in the breeze
From stories long ago
The sting still felt.
Small towns don't forget.
Wondering who knows
Who shares the tales with new unknowns
To walk with head held high
Whispers mold the air
Don't they know
It's not my usual way.
It  has been ten years.
Whispers still fall all around
As I walk down the street.
Without a friend.

They are my reflections,
and I am theirs.
They share my losses.
They share my gains.
Share grief.
Share history.
My turtle heart no mystery
to my reflections
who are not quite the same,
but so similar.
They know the unspoken.
People mistake us for each other-
something we don't quite see.
They are my biggest competition
and biggest advocates.
I am one of three.

Clear payment for a wrong done.
Sadness cleared.
A receipt granted.
No more repair.
No more cold dishes.
The dish was hot and ready.
Cut with depth and feeling,
The dish was plated.
The platter gold.
Clear payment for a wrong done.