When my mother saw me,

she flew like an angel on outspread wings,

out of the flock in which she had taken refuge,

and gathered me into her arms.

She held me so tightly

I thought my bones would break,

that she would never let me go.

Later,

I saw our photograph in a newspaper,

and the smile I’d not seen because

my head had been hidden in her heart.

It was a smile that cracked open the world,

a smile I’d never seen before,

a smile that demanded the world’s witness

as the world gathered round and applauded.