I Was There

One midnight I lay in bed

Reading a thick tome of a book

It was a “best of” collection

Encompassing an entire century of stories

A Mom in one story

would sleep all night with her music on

----Just as my Mom did

My Mom was scared of the dark

She told me that---her daughter

The one she was supposed to protect

To keep safe

To make sure that that stretch of time

Between bedding down and waking

Brought nothing but sweet exhalations

When I read that line

About this other mother

I wondered if Mom used music

As a buffer between herself and her fears

I wondered

If that had occurred to me earlier

If I would have been the one

To quietly enter her night-darkened room

Place a gentle hand upon her cheek

Kiss her brow

And let her know

That nothing would disturb her

Because I was there

Yes, I was there