Mother

Why does she live on
In pain,
A captive
of her bastard children

Who see deliverance
in the glare of naked lightbulbs
Their souls freezing
in the frigid air

As inch
by bloody inch
They carve their visions
into her face

Why does she cry
Refusing, in agony,
torn beyond recognition
Why does she not die

And why do I cry
Even as they drink my tears
Encrusting their hearts
With the salt of my life