mama

I'm taller than you now - that's okay, I'll
perch my head on your shoulder like a bird, ruffle my
feathers in your warmth, share your
sunlight

some people may feel like home
but mama, you feel like the freshness in something new only to me.
an old side table, the perfect size, a goodwill find.
using a new word for the first time,
learning that you've been able to do something
extraordinary all your life, you just never knew
it was extraordinary because it felt
natural.

but to compare you to anything is an injustice.
you are a complete world in yourself.

we are, all of us, all the people that we have previously been.
we all reside in our future selves and
carry our past within us, though some carry more
than just the knowledge. Some tote it behind them - carry it to the top of that pyramid
until they realize the last pyramids were completed in roughly 1800 - 1700 BC,
and it's too late to find a new base to build on.

but mama, you somehow found a way to start building from the middle, out.
from the top, down.You found a bit of earth to dig out,
build around.