Mom Upside Down
when I was about 15
my mother went to Japan, China, and the Philippines
with a Christian ministry group from our church
she was gone for ten days
and returned with a case of amoebic dysentery
for which our family doctor gladly provided a prescription
of powerful anti-biotics
though he conveniently forgot to mention the rare side-effects
that's certainly understandable as it only affects a rare two-percent after all
and there is no benefit to scaring the other 98 percent now is there?
it's best to focus on possible positives
play up the benefits
and the benefits played up in her mind for a good two weeks
my mother was on top of the world
she had never felt better in her life
the world was beautiful
turning her way just perfectly
the birds sang sweetly
the air smelled good
the food tasted amazing
and at church
she could feel the very presence of God in the room
she could feel him touching her deeply
moving her to tears of joy
and religious ecstasy
suddenly everything made sense
life had never been better
and she returned to the doctor for a follow up
and upon being given a clean bill of health
she discontinued the pills
the ones whose rare properties
had so inspired and elated her
allowed her to attain that higher orbit
so much closer to God
but as the side effects faded
her newfound wings failed
and she fell
with increasing velocity
and perhaps it was that impact which woke me that night
at half past three
when I entered the hallway to make my way
to attend to the urge to urinate
I noticed a light on in the kitchen
and thinking that it shouldn't be
I decided to switch it off before returning to my dreamlife
but I heard her
before I could see her
I wasn't certain I recognized the sound of sobbing
rounding that corner
she was startled to see me
as much as I was to see her
sitting there on a stepstool
streaming tears through the hands clasped to her face
I spoke instantly out of concern
"Mom, what's wrong?"
as she looked up me with dialated pupils contracting slightly
to reveal the pale blue pools
source of her tears
she said only three words
"I don't know."
nothing could have frightened me more at that moment
for what is more fear inspiring than the unknown
the unexpected answer
the unplanned event
the possible factors come into play against our promises
these undefined threats against our future
and what is the value of family
if not to share these burdens together
and so I listened to my mother
as she described for me briefly her feelings
at the opposite end of the pendulum
where it seemed God had abandoned her
just like her earthly father
and she expressed a desire to expire
for her life to end with the emenations of love she no longer felt from the source
I did my best to offer words of comfort
and allowed her to cry on my shoulder
slowly moving her
step by step
back toward her bed
and my sleeping father
unconscious and unsuspecting
of his wife's instability
the next day I overheard
my mother on the phone
with the family doctor
threats were issued
assurances received
and a new prescription provided
to smooth over her "chemical imbalance"
as it had been explained away
and so began my mother's descent
into the pharmacopeia
and being an immortal amoral teen
bent on behaving badly
so as to more fully deserve my punishments
I sampled from her medicine cabinet
and found myself on the on the ground incapacitated
all I could say was
"Wow!"
which as we all know
is "MOM" upside-down
- Marvin Scott Marvin, 2005
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© SpiritCaller.net, 2005
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