Mother-in-law

Parcelled in string and brown paper
her ashes swung on her grandson’s pram.
All that was left of her body
jigged lightly in bitter sunshine.
Blind support for her son
defending his selfishness
supporting his thoughtlessness
yet casually he’d failed her again.
Her penury moved him to wish for her death
carelessly tolling the bell on his marriage.
Devoted adoring loyalty
repaid with a miserly mien.
Her illness merely bored him.
Indifferently he only expected
accepted her love as his due
as he did mine too.

Both of us blithely accepting
the illusion of superior man.
Flawed god in our midst drawing
superhuman blood sucking care.
His schizoid depression held us hostage
united in succouring him,
who possessed no emotional depth.
Whilst her love never wavered,
the candle of mine lay guttering
in faltering flame as she died.
Mother jean beclad genie wove magic
saw what was absent, what could not exist
remembered the small infant she’d kissed
suffered her illness in silence
worried at the trauma he’d suffer
in losing his beloved mother.

You’d never understood, how could you
he had no emotion to offer
he always looked to others
to see what response he should give.
The photo he put on his table
framed a tombstone which bore
just your name and your dates
carved in cold granite stone
for his chill arctic heart to adore.