How do I help a grown baby
to cry, to wail
and to kick his feet -
To even have a temper tantrum if he wants?
How to allow a grown man
to feel his small boy self
The tears shed and be out of him.
I see the toddler
inside a wonderfully handsome man
and want to pick up this toddler
and rock him in my arms,
and sing a lullaby,
and be with him while he cries.
His pain brings out the earth mother in me
comforting, soft and long,
with fat arms and grandmother softness.
I want to soothe the brow
of this beautiful baby
all night long as he cries
wiping the fever off his neck
over and over -
To help him through the darkness of pain into the dawn of day.