Couldn'T Have Asked For More
Auntie, do you know my mom?
I asked after my first day at school.I was six.
She told me my mom had long been gone.
Auntie, do you know her name
when asked to write ‘My Mother’ essay at school.I was eight.
Why, my love, do you need a mom, she asked.
I could see water in her eyes as she clutched me to her heart.
Afraid of hurting her, I pledged never to ask again
On the eve of my tenth birthday,
she climbed into my bed ,smoothed my hair
and started telling a story:
There was a young princess
in love with a handsome prince
They were to marry each other but
the prince was killed in an untimely crash
Grief crushed her in its jaws
Before the prince’s coffin could settle in the earth
and her tears could abate
she found out she was carrying a child
She could not reveal this to a soul
for fear of family dishonor and societal humiliation.
So she left to live with her favorite aunt
in Paris for a full year
She swore her aunt to secrecy
and there, she gave birth to the cutest girl
Left the baby with a sinking heart and a promise to return
Back home, she could not eat or sleep
the baby’s cries always resonating in her mind
She told her dad, the king she would like to adopt a baby
The king agreed-anything for his daughter’s lost smile
and she brought the 6-month old baby home
to raise her in an ocean of love
She taught the child to call her Auntie
though it broke her heart
Here, she paused and broke down
sobbing into my pillow.
I caressed her gently
wiped her tears and ran my fingers through her hair
Finding a tiny voice, I whispered
you are the princess, mom
Written on:07/21/2016
Contest:'Long Lost Family' by Silent One
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