Ears perked like an owl, she listens to the soft breaths.
With each and every respiration she smiles,
since she knows that means one more moment with her child.
To caress and feel the soft cheeks of her seed,
continues like her endless need to breathe.

She gazes upon the thinning locks and kisses him gently,
remembering the days his blond hair would be splattered with mud
and his blue jeans stained from the grass,
the days she scolded him for eating too many cookies,
the days she tickled him until he was nothing but laughs,
the nights she tucked him into a cocoon,
and read Goodnight Moon until her voice left her.
Those were the days and nights she longed to recreate.
But today she realized the meaning of “once upon a time”.

The days she gently kissed his unscarred finger,
she could take away his ache.
But now all she can feel is pain.
No longer can she be the hero,
but instead a bystander with no superpowers.

White and bare the room stays still
as her world constantly twirls.
Heavy is the heartbeat,
but not strong enough to hold up her hope.
She hopes each monotone beep repeats,
for that is a soundtrack she longs to keep.

He lies idle in bed, not ready for what is ahead.
She weeps as she sits beside him.
He opens his eyes to a world she wished was kinder to him.

To see the enduring light in his soft blue eyes,
she tells her boy, “Everything will be okay.”
Sharper than diamond shards she cries as
she wraps her tongue around the lies.