What I Meant
I was looking through old photo albums
with my son, and he pointed to one
and said, I’ve never seen you look that way.
What way, I said. Young?
So happy — that look — you never look that way
you’re looking in that picture.
Sure, I said, you’ve seen me smiling like that.
I smile with you all the time.
No, he said, that’s a different sort of look.
OK, I said, wow. You know, that picture was taken before
I had you, before I became a mom.
I made you unhappy, he said.
No, no, I said. That’s not what I meant.
***
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Photo by Ali Eminov /Flickr
Beautiful, you spoke to me, my soul touched by you words. Thank you