Momma

Written by Charlene V. Martoni

She reaches
Her arm across your chest
So you don’t fall
Forward.

She is lost but
You feel found, surrounded
By the deep early-darkness
Of the late-fall evening.

“When evening falls so hard,
I will comfort you,”

She sings
Along. You are
In love
With the song, with
Your mom.

She amazes
You.

“Sail on silver girl,
All your dreams are on their way.”

The velvety cloth-covered seat
Feels damp on your dream-dewy skin
As she looks at you and smiles.
It is the first time in your life

She was ready
For you to sit up front
In the passenger seat,
Next to her on this journey.

*Quoted lines are from Simon and Garfunkel’s
“Bridge Over Troubled Water”