Blessed Mother,

where the wind blows,

and where the moon

in her white beauty

glows upon the soft earth.

Blessed Mother,

I ask you to watch over my dad,

all his steps in the darkness,

and his kind mind as it falters

to remember the hour, the day,

or even the way

to make things right again—

forgetful in the deep night,

nervous like my shaking pen.

For you are there, Mother

who holds the stars, and

you are there, Mother

with the tender arms

from God’s breast, his milk,

soft as the silk touch

of a mother with her infant,

the young love that makes her blush

at the beauty of all birth—

my dad now like a child

as he stumbles on this earth.

For Blessed Mother, I

need you, we need you,

humanity would be nothing

without you.

So please

watch over him tonight

as if I could write

a prayer to please God.

A prayer to look beyond

my filth, my pride, my sins.

Blessed Mother,

please look past all of that.

Not for me

but for him.