Posted with permission.

As I prepare to give my mom her 7 year sobriety cake on Tuesday evening, I wanted to share one of my most personal poems. I asked my mom if I could share the poem I wrote her after her first year when she was presented with her medallion and she said yes.

Mother

As a little boy you held my hand

You protected me fiercely

You took a stand

As a sensitive child you wiped my face

From the tears of discrimination

That my spirit couldn’t face

You held me up for the world to see

Loving me as I was

You saw the beauty in me

Over the years, the spirit became poisoned

By the drink of choice

Despite the warning voices

My child inside wanted to curl up and die

As any evening with the drink

would be soon be filled with lies

I let down my mom

What a terrible son

Could you not see it coming?

Was the rant I kept running.

Not from a judgmental son

But from a place of missing my mom

As time whispered by

the tears wept dry

until the moment in time

when you were all alone

Bleeding, hurting, dying

Maybe not this time

The fall on your head

Was a gift you said

As you are standing here today with your cake, all but alone

It has finally occurred to me

My mom has come home

Carl Meadows

February 3, 2009