Before Time Stole Me Away

in another world she wakes to quiet no echoes of my childhood laughter no midnight cries no tiny hands pulling at time she walks with a lighter step the weight of motherhood never settling on the curve of her spine in this new life her eyes aren’t tired and her dreams aren’t transferred to me they stay stitched to her ribs not sacrificed at the altar of my becoming she reads books uninterrupted falls asleep without guilt doesn’t carry my fears in the pockets of her heart but I wonder does she miss me in the silence? does the wind whisper my name in her ear like a ghost she was never meant to meet? or does she breathe easier unburdened untouched free? and yet would she go back just for a day? to feel my small fingers curl around hers to hear my laughter bounce off the walls to hold me close before time stole me away? even if she wouldn’t stay I wonder if she’d give anything for one more night where I was still little and she was still my whole world