Sins of Omission: Remembrance for a Birthday

Sometimes all you remember
Are the mistakes you made
The things you didn’t do
Those small sins
Of mother’s omission
That can wear a hole in a child’s heart

Like the time
He cried from 10 till 2
You shut the nursery door
Till all the tears dried up
You wonder if they left
Some permanent desert in the heart

Like the time you let
The waste in his diaper
Rub the bottom raw
Because you felt that day
Your life must have a purpose
Beyond pampers and strained peas

Like the time you hit him
Because you hated yourself
A single tear cruised down his cheek
So lonely all he said was
I do good
In school Mom