she is our home

she dons a soft belly with skin that stretched wide enough

to embrace one, two & three, four, five and five little ones

she carried them for nine months

and she has been carrying them ever since

her eyes are decorated with lines that tell the story of

the first and fourteenth time at Disney

dropping her babies off at kindergarten and college

and every Christmas morning in between

her feet are tough.

strength built up from walking on Mad River Beach

tripping over Legos, and dancing in the kitchen

her slender fingers brushed out hair and brushed away tears

and tried and tried for half a year

to learn the piano with her little girl

her smile is still radiant, her gray hair a crown

we have lived in many houses, changed our address

traveled by minivan and SUV, slept in different beds

but her?

she is where we grew up

her body has grown with us

moaned with the weight of our bodies and our burdens

stretched and strengthened to become our safe place

the place we came from

and will go back to

she is our home