I am the kind of person who cries at Hallmark commercials. You know the type. I’m not ashamed.
Since I have become a mother I cry at much less obvious things, too. The newspaper and the evening news on television are chock-full of things that make me cry now. Even the bad movies on Lifetime can make me cry.
I don’t enjoy it. And I know when it’s coming. So why, why do I tempt fate? It’s like when you’re watching a horror movie and the girl goes down the dark staircase into the basement – you KNOW something evil is down there. SHE knows it. And yet there she goes.
In a recent issue of The New Yorker the financial company AIG included a small leaflet of poems as a shameless marketing ploy. Usually I rip stuff like that out of the magazine and toss it, because it makes my flipping experience annoying. But for some reason, this I read. And it includes this poem which I will recreate here for you, so that you, most likely also a mother, can cry, too. I hope I’m not breaking any copyright laws here.
I WORRY MORE by David Filer
I worry more now that my son is out
On his own, earning a handsome salary
Back east. How big the country is, and how
Many ways to navigate it. He’s free
To cross his streets without a father’s help-
A father’s caution, practice reading the signs.
And though I must admit he’s doing well,
Anything could happen, and he’s still mine
To fret over. Finally I understand
My own father’s silence. Not uncaring,
As I once thought, it’s the brave wordlessness
Of love and wonder, and no little fear:
Two fathers, now watching from their distance,
Two sons who risk the futures they will miss.
I am crying again. Go figure.
Oh yeah, that’s a good one.
Go buy the children’s book “I Love You Forever.” It’s a doozy. I can read it aloud now and only my voice cracks. Tears used to stream down my face and scare Gus.
Oh yeah, that’s a good one.
Go buy the children’s book “I Love You Forever.” It’s a doozy. I can read it aloud now and only my voice cracks. Tears used to stream down my face and scare Gus.
Oh yeah, that’s a good one.
Go buy the children’s book “I Love You Forever.” It’s a doozy. I can read it aloud now and only my voice cracks. Tears used to stream down my face and scare Gus.
Very sweet. I must say, I do understand, better, the anguish of those poor mothers of fallen soilders. I know it sounds corny, but I cry when I hear about those poor mothers. Imagine that horror.
Okay; on the bright side of life, aren’t we lucky we have such beautiful babies? Life is good, indeed.
Very sweet. I must say, I do understand, better, the anguish of those poor mothers of fallen soilders. I know it sounds corny, but I cry when I hear about those poor mothers. Imagine that horror.
Okay; on the bright side of life, aren’t we lucky we have such beautiful babies? Life is good, indeed.
Very sweet. I must say, I do understand, better, the anguish of those poor mothers of fallen soilders. I know it sounds corny, but I cry when I hear about those poor mothers. Imagine that horror.
Okay; on the bright side of life, aren’t we lucky we have such beautiful babies? Life is good, indeed.