I wasn’t listening

Her gentle words

chew on the mind

like bubble gum.

That has flavors

uniquely wrapped as

messages in them.

With moral lesson

in her stories that

could pop any listeners

impatience from the

beginning to end.

Her gentle words

tells a sticky

climax that’s unavoidable

like chewing gum

stuck underneath a desk.

Like this one time,

when she had told me

an ultimatum

she had encountered

between life or death.

Those last words

of hers made it hard

for me to listen.

When the gentle words

of hers would foil

the story with a lecture

about the importance

of life rather than

telling me the full

point of this ultimatum.

A small kick to the shin

was her way of keeping

my attention and

also letting it be known

that 9 months on her feet

in discomfort is a super

power only made for women.

Those last words

of hers made it really

hard for me to listen.

As she would continue

to paint a picture,

explaining how a

woman who birth life

are much stronger

than I could ever

comprehend.

And how life’s pressure

that leaves stretch marks

from the unexpected kicks

is a comfortable reassurance

that there is still life to live.

Those last words of hers,

forced me to realize

that I wasn’t listening.

That it’s tough being

a woman having to

juggle between caretaking

and caregiving.

But like chewing gum,

the gentle words

that she spoke brought

warmth to my mind.

As she would

grab my hands,

to keep my attention.

To further explain

that making it home safe

from a long and tiring

day is God’s grace.

And those last words

of hers made me think

that I need to listen.

When the last words

she spoke was

a gentle peel

that exposed me

to her stories

finishing touch.

That unwrapped

my mind to her

beautiful philosophy.

That life’s heartaches

and heartbreaks

are all worth it

at the end.