My Butterfly

She wakes, scrambles eggs and smoothes the bed She laughs, as I yawn and scratch my head And she slides a brand-new princess comb through the knots in my hair She holds my hand as we walk there First day, screams and spit balls fill the air And I cling, but she nods and I climb the stairs She waves, til the school bus pulls away, disappears Then sings a song to quiet her fears: Spread your wings and fly Outstretched to the sky Spread your wings and fly My butterfly Ten years, and then another ten go by And I move, find a job and find a guy And I call, with a spring in my step, tear in my eye "Mom, we set the date for July." She brings, somethin' old and somethin' blue, And we talk, with an hour left and nothing left to do, And I've got ... a stomach full of big butterflies, But she takes my hand and looks in my eyes: BRIDGE She takes her grandkids' pictures from the wall On her last day, she cleans her desk and walks down the hall Looks both ways and, wonders what to do now, what happens next... When she asks, I know what to suggest: