Distance

Your sweet soprano is so distant now, dear Mother, So far from my fearful ear. Did it cherish me yet chooses now to chastise, as if I needed punishment? So why do I hear such a call, such a note moving further away, dear Mother, moving further, further, into that distance? A soprano still but falling, falling. Where are you, dear Mother? Will you return to my head, my heart, even to my timorous ear, though chastising, may indeed cherish with your soprano, cherish yes, even treasure, becoming less distant, closer, closer, yes, less distant still? I knew you would never disappear, but one fears. Oh yes, one fears. (May 2022)