I'M Still Here

“I’m Still Here” When you see me now, I’m the same person inside That I was when I gave birth to you Oh, so many years ago. I don’t hear what you say sometime. I don’t understand your meanings sometime. I don’t see the same things that you see sometime. I don’t articulate as well as I once did, But I’m still here. My legs are not as steady as they once were When I chased after you on a sunny day in the park. My hands are not as strong, As when they bandaged and kissed your adolescent scrapes. My resolve is not as great as when I clutched you to my breast When you were crying and afraid. Whether you recognize it or not, I’m still here – the same Me inside, Not as vibrant, not as self-assured, not as sure of herself, But the same person…inside, The same person who would be first at your door If you needed me for as long as I could. Yes, I’m still here, The same woman who still clutches to those far-away memories That renew my joy when I see you now. You are, and always will be, a severed part of me That is moving now in a different direction. I forget some things that are important to you now, But I remember trivial little things that we shared years and years ago. I reside now mostly in our past preparing for that time when you Will no longer be within my reach, nor I in yours. I shelter the memories now of when you were a child, And you were the light of my life, and I was yours. Yes, I am still the same person inside – A little less vibrant, A little slower, perhaps, A little more distant, A little more far removed. But I’m still here… with the same depth of love still beating inside, And I will always be with you. 05-29-17 j. b. pearce