AS TIME GOES BY
I thought I'd remember, forever,
Those 'milestones' of which people spoke!
Weight at birth, then first word, and first friendships!
Forget them? That would be a joke!
I thought that affection preserved them,
Every detail I'd know from the start.
There was nothing on earth could erase them,
Those 'milestones' engraved on my heart.
But, forget them I have, I admit it,
Their statistics now pass in a blur.
And yet at the time, they engulfed me,
Causing such an emotional stir!
Now sometimes my middle-aged children,
Who're parents themselves by this time,
Request a statistic to guide them
And my blank look is almost a crime!
They ask for 'first words' or 'first teacher'!
They ask me 'Did I act this way?'!
I look like an uncaring Mother
For I've simply got nothing to say!
They slip through our fingers, those moments,
Which seemed set in concrete back then.
And I mourn, in contemplative moments,
For they'll never be babies again.
