To Behold my Mother

Things I have never seen my mom do.

run a dishwasher

do a load of laundry

console her mother

embrace her father

consume alcohol

smoke a cigarette

save money

be free of debt

nurse her child,

abandon the same

approach death four times,

to deliver a child

lose a fifth before birth.

leave a friend,

 stranded

work a day,
without pain

rest her soul through the night
at peace with her past mistakes

break a promise,

tell a lie

read the bible,

bear a testimony,

talk of christ,

rejoice of christ,

teach of christ,

fail to support a son,
on a  mission

take the sacrament

at home
in her final years

Steven Lynn Bassett