Something less than love
by
Jude Kyrie

I was only five when she left us
just a little boy.
That long ago summer
when the heat
burned upon the earth
and also our passions.

she left us with the handsome
man with the big car.
since then even after all
these passing years
I have looked
and searched for a place
to lose my sadness.

sometimes in the stillness of sleep.
I would hear the songs she
sang as I fell asleep in her comfort.
or feel her lips softly on my cheek.

I dreamt of her often
hearing
her almost forgotten footsteps
coming into my room.
I painted her beautiful face
in my mind
until time faded it to a blur.

Now a man no longer
a little boy
with torn jeans and.
***** tee shirt.

people say to me
dumb things like.
She is still out there
and thinks of you everyday.
With a mother's love in her heart.

I nod in concert with their thoughts.
I whisper sure or maybe.

But
I know inside of her heart.
it's something less than love.
yes for sure.
Something much less than love