mother

to dream of floating,

to shun the sensuality of flight and falling

for the touch of naked air in a darkened room.

mother, you dreamed of a faceless child,

a toddling girl with pale yellow hair

and pale yellow skin stretching empty beneath,

her small hands patting up the side of the bed.

i am your absolution:

i, with my awkward smile

and my bones like yours;

shying from touch and gravity,

supine, with half-closed eyes,

my hands crossed on my chest like the dead.