Mother and Child

This is a favorite of mine. The image of that day is still vivid in my mind. Everyone I know who is a mom can relate to this type of day. I wrote this well before I had kids. Go figure.


Mother and Child

I spent a day on Block Island.
Summer people everywhere-
tanned parent with screaming kids,
hippie guys with knotted hair and girls
in string bikinis.
For a day, it was paradise.
There is a ferry that takes people to this place,
this land of sand and drinks.
On my way off this island,
as the sun was reposing,
I sat on the ferry thinking.
My body ached from the sun and my eyes were
tired from staring.
I glanced to my side and there,
in the shade of the sun's summer glow,
was a mother and her sun burnt son.
The mother was awake; the child was fast asleep
in her arms.
His day had ended at 11am,
but he had walked on,
annoyed,
yet happy to be with his mom.
His cheeks looked puffy,
his eyelashes looked white.
As I watched them,
I could see united breathing.
In...out....in...out.
A mother and child are a thing of beauty
in the middle of July.