Oh My Son Poem by Cynthia Evans

Again and again, the tears
Come unexpectedly-
I am incapable of stopping them
Spurred on by the merest wisp of memory
A dog's kiss on the back of an infant's head,
The bubbling that was you
Within me.
The grin and flash of a child
Always on the run beside me,
Away from me?
Where now?
I cannot hug this away, my son.
I, too, am frightened
Of the tomorrows we dreamed
Now lost-
Out of our hands-helpless
Reaching for help.
Strangers be merciful.