How I Will Hug My Mother After the Pandemic
I will wrap my arms
tightly around her back
and bury my face
in her collarbone
my tears quickly spilling
onto her skin.
I will sob there for a while
whole body trembling, releasing
pent-up longing to embrace
still in disbelief at the months
that have passed since I last
felt the give of her flesh.
Then I will lift my head
and let out a sigh of relief
rest my chin on her shoulder
with my ear nestled in strands
of brunette interwoven with
silver and a dash of white.
And I won’t need to say
a single word because
as always, she already
knows what I’m feeling
and my body has said
all it needed to say.