Mother, Who Were You

A Mother I Never Knew

Mother, Who Were You?
By ~ Reagana

Who is this woman
that's dressed in rags
all she owned
tattered and torn
 

No coat for warmth
her things in bags
beneath the chill
of early morn

Meager belongings
are close at hand
One man's trash
became her treasure

Too weak with hunger
to even stand
So long since
she ate for pleasure
 

Her days a struggle
just to survive
a penny tossed
to the pauper
 

Asking, begging, for
someone to give
a life~saving
single copper

Looking back, she's not
a tear to shed
all she was slipped
through hollow hands

For the lonely life
that she once led
now this world
has other demands

Her children born, and
taken away
stars that vanished
before her eyes

She too young
to know just why
she never discerned
the truth from lies
 

A shadow in
my memory
too insubstantial
to embrace

Is all that I
will ever have
I never even
knew her face

For this woman
I cannot fault
she only knew
what anguish stole
 

She's my Mother
only in name
she never learned
to play the role

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