Flying Solo
She struggles to provide the essentials
Everyday
Every waking moment is like a cast iron weight around her neck
But this was her flower
And if her only option had been wringing a damp rag
This little flower would surely be given the water to grow
Surviving was as common as breathing air
It’s just what they did
It’s how they lived
And though at times the integrity of her methods is at best questionable
Is there anyone bold enough to inquire?
In this life there are few luxuries
No leisurely getaways to extravagant places
Every penny is undoubtedly accounted for
Twelve fold
Yet and still
She always manages to make a way
Always
A determined pupil of life and its harsh realities
There was a time she was expecting
And the one man whom her heart loved
Loved less with each passing day
The day she delivered, eerily similar to the day of conception
Both instances begot lessons in loneliness
But they also cultivated strength and an unrelenting determination
Despite circumstance
For her little bundle there was no land she wouldn’t traverse
No river she wouldn’t cross
No matter the cost
The skin over her knees was rough and ashen
Markings that would serve as daily reminders
Punctuating the many soiled hardwood floors scrubbed
For what was most certainly an absurd wage
Whatever could be spared brought the occasional transfer
Just to allow her blistered feet a reprieve from shuffling one job to the next
But they would never go without some semblance of a meal
The one thing that would forever be a guarantee
That and her incessant love
The steady dull ache that careened through her muscles
Like white water rapids pounding against the rocks in a swiftly moving river
These were her consequences for giving life
A life that requires every bit of her
So painfully exhausted
But so adamantly willing
Any test of her fortitude had been passed long ago
There is simply nothing more admirable
And not a picture more beautiful
Then a mother obsessed with nurturing and caring
All for what is likely the only thing that continues to breathe life into her
Left alone long ago, and given the responsibility of sole caregiver
Abandoned but far from broken
To many, this may be nothing more than a familiar story
But to see the fight in one who embarks on this solo flight
Is to see something nothing short of extraordinary
Copyright©2013 by Daryl R. Gaines. All rights reserved
Copyright © Daryl Gaines | Year Posted 2014
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