She beckoned me to her room
Blood staining towels and t-shirts
Open wrists resting
Meditating
Mom, I don’t know what to do
Puzzled, scared
I have no answer
I wish I had an answer
but I do see
A need for stitches
In the ER
A perplexed MD
With twenty stitches
Closes
A page in her life and mine
Yesterday
She dressed like a cowboy
Ate apples in the front yard
Flopped on her belly
Rolled and cooed new kittens
She drew happy little girls
And talked with a lisp
But somehow
Her world has become dark
And sweetness has been drained
From her slumber
Until
The cutting of her flesh
Is all she has for relief