A Mother's Love
He lives to smile and to walk
Mother marvels at each new move
Little explorer, learner he
Each year, a day
Then through school
A lad so young, so full of fun
Discovering life is more than toys
Mom tries to teach him
All she can and yet, he grows
Dependent, yet, in his own world
A boy becoming juvenile
Autonomous, he tries to be
Liberation is his plan
Unconstrained and ever free
Juvenile becoming man
And there one day, unfettered truth
He said, “Mom, I ‘m gay.”
“ I had no choice, I was born this way.”
And mom, she loved her Benji still
Bigots, now a part of life
But one, the worse, who hurt him most
A father who turned off his love
And walked away and closed the door
Benji’s sadness lived inside
A mother’s love could not atone
No recompense for a father’s love
That should have been for a son
And Benji lived as all lads do
Independence, liberty
Trying to learn and find his part
Autonomy and tenderness
One mistake and tables turned
From life to death
AIDS came and robbed
His dignity, his pride, his joy
And backwards fell her little boy
Into death’s dark journey, so much despair
So long the passage that ate away
At what should have been a lifelong joy
Mother came each day and watched
The smile go, the walk that left
The pain that took that little step
Potty trained, now in reverse
A stroke, and then the breath so faint
And then her son a shallow shell
Where no more life lived in pain
But spirit soared to whence it came
A mother’s tears could not repair
The pain and stigma that he felt
But mother’s love guided him
Through a place so dark so torn
Benji Jr. passed away between 3:00am and 3:15 am January 10, 2008
Picture-top: Child and Mother by EllaDee from Deviant Art
Picture bottom: Hands by This Is My Quest from Deviant Art
Music: "My Heart Will Go On"
