untitled 19 [for mom]

For years, you asked me to write you a poem.
You who gave me life ? I can­not say no any longer ?
but do you know how hard this is?

Try to remem­ber exact­ly how
I slept warm in your womb ? or the sim­ple way
I brought you tiny fist­fuls of wild­flow­ers.

How dif­fi­cult is it to recall? You taught me
that life is worth liv­ing just because it is.
How can I write to you who told me
All of the Things that Begin With M?

You built my char­ac­ter.
How many leaves raked and shov­els full of snow
make a big enough pile of Thank You?

The great­est poem I ever heard was your ?I love you.?
For years, you have asked me to write you a poem.
The only one I real­ly know is I love you.