Reeling
behind a mother’s eyes
I watched you
learn on one day
you had cancer
and exactly four weeks later
breathe your last.
I only let those eyes
weep on you, my child,
twice in this brief time.
The tears will reside
always
in my heart.
About the Author: Patricia Wellingham-Jones
Patricia Wellingham-Jones is a widely published former psychology researcher and writer/editor. She has a special interest in healing writing, with poems recently in The Widow’s Handbook (Kent State University Press). Chapbooks include Don’t Turn Away: poems about breast cancer, End-Cycle: poems about caregiving, Apple Blossoms at Eye Level, Voices on the Land and Hormone Stew.