Dean Friedman Song For My Mother
In the hollow of your arms Snuggled up safe and warm You used to tell me tales of unicorns and kings But how could I comprehend All the things you told me then Of your maddness and your struggling My mind would swim in fantasies Like a piece of driftwood on the sea I had no touchstone for reality You were my reality Like a dark and unlit room Or the far side of the moon Your insanity spoke emptiness and fear No matter how I tried How I questioned and I pried I just could not penetrate that thin veneer And I know you tried to comfort me To soothe and reassure me But then your strength would always fail And in it's place a silken veil Like a dried and wrinkled prune A deflated toy balloon I came home and found you strewn across the floor And as they lay you on your bed I heard you say "If I am dead, How come it just keeps on hurtin' more and more" And you left me in the early spring All they said was "Mommy's resting" And how was I to know so young It wasn't something I had done So please try and understand I will love you as I can I do not blame you, you're not guilty But still theres no way to describe The relief I finally found Upon learning it was you And not me That was crazy