a mothers prayer

watch him sleep

this man-child

beautiful long lashes

lay softly

on unblemished cheek

sweet pouting mouth

giggles with laughter

cries with fear

whispers

mommy, i love you

still suckles sometimes

while he dreams

time stops

while i watch

and ever so gently i

stroke his perfect brow

my heart aches to know

am i his blessing

as he is mine

and i know

every mothers prayer

is to hold on to this moment

forever

beer and wild turkey night

 as the girl entered the room

the smell of breakfast cooking

left her uneasy

hungry but uneasy

he rarely cooked

most times expecting her to

but he didn’t like the way

she made eggs

when he was drunk

remnants of last night

a beer and wild turkey night

were scattered over the living room

everything empty

his friends had pawed at her

while he laughed

but none of them got her

this time

his eggs were getting cold

they had melted little pits

onto the styrofoam plate

last time this happened

he blamed her for buying

the crappy plates

and he beat her again

dropping her books

she scooped up his plate

if she was quick

she could slide the half cooked

half burned mess

onto a new plate

she was quick enough

but realized the bacon and sausage 

he had walked away from

were burning to a crisp

she’d have to throw it out

and start it over

god help her

if he’d used the last of it