Gave Me Up To Tears

 

"And all my mother came into mine eyes
And gave me up to tears."
— William Shakespeare, Henry V

 

The air tastes of mashed potatoes

When she looks into your eyes

And you look back at the fear and hurt

And she says she’s sorry for dragging you here

And you tell her it’s nothing

Even though you were complaining

That very same thing on the drive here

But that was before they told you the whole truth

 

A phone call

Saying

You need to come

Another phone call

Saying

You need to come

But this time

It’s serious

 

Never seen her like this

So helpless and immobile

Things going on in her head

That I don’t understand

And even when they explain

I don’t understand

And when she asks

We don’t try very hard to explain

 

And time moves on

S    l    o    w    l    y

And the next time she speaks

There are no words

Even though she thinks there are

And we can’t understand

And she doesn’t understand

And I never hear her speak again

 

And time does not move on

It stays suspended in this room

For many years

We come

And go

And she returns to routine

She rises

She falls

She rises

 

She falls and can’t come home

Because she falls

And so we go again

To the atmosphere

Of mashed potatoes

And stewed vegetable

Of drives to the quiet room

Where we look at each other

 

The last time

Just before we leave

She takes my hand

And looks me in the eyes

Deep in my eyes

As if to remember

What she has brought

To the world

 

And when the next phone call comes

There are no returns

But I still treasure

That last deep stare

That said everything

Without the need

For words she could not form

Remember me

 

And I do