what a conflict it is being a child
and being middle-aged
and having to work so hard
at not blatantly treating your mother like a child
when she acts like one

how frustrating it is being mature enough
to know that the mistakes of her past
are hers and the fact that
they impact on your present
is neither here nor there
and you can do nothing to alter that history

what a trial it is to refrain
from trying to make her life better
when you know she won’t change
and any changes you try to implement
will be met with
recalcitrant resistance
from the child who resides in the mind
of that difficult old septuagenarian

02/22/2012

Posted on 02/22/2012
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