Babe

my children will always be

heirs

to

alcohol

I nursed a bottle

longer

than

my babies

to

my

breast

I could cry

for

those

days I

could

not

walk

the length of the zoo

holding

my small

son's

hand

too underweight

from the

trauma

to

risk

a

single

step

and I could cry

for the

season

I spent

away

from

them

sobering up

a mother-child

under

my

own

mother's

merciful

care

but

baby

it was

here

I learned

the grace

of

that

bond

and it was here

I grew

from

two

feet

tall

to

the highest

peak

when I took

my

last

drink

and I said

sayonara

to

that wasted

woman

of

woe

how I

have

swaddled

myself

inside

sobriety

taken

care

to

nurture

each nighttime

with

storybook

voice

a brave

performance

no longer

an

act

fore

I am

your

mother

child

and darling

we

can

do

hard

things