For my own sweet mother and all the other moms out there including those we miss so very much….
When you thought I wasn’t looking
When you thought I wasn’t looking
You hung my first painting on the refrigerator
And I wanted to paint another.
You hung my first painting on the refrigerator
And I wanted to paint another.
When you thought I wasn’t looking
You fed a stray cat
And I thought it was good to be kind to animals.
When you thought I wasn’t looking
You baked a birthday cake just for me
And I knew that little things were special things.
When you thought I wasn’t looking
You said a prayer
And I believed there was a God that I could always talk to.
When you thought I wasn’t looking
You kissed me good-night
And I felt loved.
When you thought I wasn’t looking
I saw tears come from your eyes
And I learned that sometimes things hurt
But that it’s alright to cry.
When you thought I wasn’t looking
You smiled
And it made me want to look that pretty too.
When you thought I wasn’t looking
You cared
And I wanted to be everything I could be.
When you thought I wasn’t looking
I looked . . .
And wanted to say thanks
For all those things you did
When you thought I wasn’t looking.
Poem by Mary Rita Schilke Korzan.
Image by Wilma de Lange