My Protector

My Protector



An unwilled cry escaped my lips.

In that moment,

she expelled her last breath. 

A pause of silence,

that chasm of waiting, hoping, longing, praying.

Then realization-

          she was gone.

My face tore with anguish,

my loss exposed naked on my face.

Hands clenched about my mothers

tired hands.



The very grip,

that proved to fortify the embankment to my soul.

Ripped apart. 

    Solitary.





Pain is harsh,

anguish stronger,

emptiness even more hollow.

No protection is offered.



I ache for the harbor from the ever-raging storm,

Winds of disappointment abated there.

Anchored in,

secure in my mooring,

no heave or hurl could launch me from my port.



Standing near the burial box,

reaching out for one last navigational clue.

Vulnerable and frightened, releasing

my ballast in the storm.

I rise to bare the tempest all alone.