Mother, braid my hair for me
Her whisper brushes through my fears
My eyes wander across the horizon
Witnessing innocence as it thrashes the
teeth of reality.

A time when sunshine played foolish games among rainclouds
Little fingers dipped into fountains of youth that only held wisdom
But someone cracked the pavement
Someone laughed menacingly as the split broke into veins
And the veins entombed the heart
Wisdom was no longer contained
It flooded the world and they wasted it
on vanities
Like water pouring from skyscrapers
Drenching the ground in mud
Drowning those who simply wanted a few drops to quench their thirst

Before planes wrestled towers
And left iron in curls of dust
Before wars exasperated in turmoil
And left streams of red to climb mountains that slip between valleys of death
Before people threw eternal salvation away
And they spin down porcelain walls to the bowels of the earth

“Hush, hush, love,” Mother tells me
“Light draws near and paints new bridges for you.”
Her words sung like exuberant lullabies
Entwining the strands together
“To everything there is a season”
Yes, yes, the Ecclesiastical tunes
“A time for love.” Her voice grows
with patience

Memories flood the corrals of my mind
Smudges of ink once replayed the
same phrase

Summers cloud the oceans betwixt miles
of separation
Yet I know the season will approach in
due time
If the Lord so allows

Still flames burn through oaths
Promises break with every passing moment
And hatred swallows the souls of many

They assume the role of sadistic demons
Devouring who they may
Those who lack possession of the power
to dismiss temptations!
I will stand amid the winds that blow and point to the anchor
For now I hide in the shallow beacon
Growing stronger to swim the waves

Mother, braid my hair for me
Her hands comb the locks
And her heart ties the key
And I, I sit beneath the weeping willow tree.