she is five
she is my baby
we stand in hot sun
beneath a bittersweet ending

i help her hold up her hand
and when she isn’t included
no one notices
and i feel smaller than her

when he comes up and asks
if i’m some other girl’s mother
so he can invite her (not mine)
to a birthday party?

all i can do
all i can do
is be grateful for my new
dark sunglasses to hide my tears

and the worries that rest
deep in a mother’s heart?
this is the bittersweet beginning
of a lifetime more