WON'T YOU?

I look at the tiny scrape
Just a scratch on my knee
Tears gathering in my eyes
My lower lip wobbling.

"It hurts!"
"I know, sweetheart"
You gather me in your arms
"There!" you say and
You kiss the pain away.
I see my pain reflected
In your eyes
And it hurts me no more.

Now those same eyes
Look at me vacantly
On the pristine bed you lie
A faraway look in your eye
Lost to the world,
Lost to me.
Aged. Broken. Distant.

"It hurts!"
I offer you my aching heart
"Won't you gather me into your arms?"
"Just once. Just for a moment, Mama!"
"Won't you come back to me?"
"Won't you...
Won't you kiss my pain away?"