It started 11 years ago
when I no longer
walked him
into
school
He would jump out
of the car and
say Mama
Remember
extra kiss
Just before he entered
The building
He would look
Throwing a
Kiss
I can’t recall if at first
his hand met his mouth
but I won’t
forget those
lips
Now, sixteen, he
still looks back
and discretely
puckers
them up
The family secret
until now
because I awoke
with tears in
my eyes
Knowing this too shall
pass knowing these
blown kisses
will
end
A reason not to give him a
car I say
despite how much
easier it would be
for me
Ready or not
We don’t ever want
To think this
Is our last
fill in the blank
But it makes you feel
more appreciative
of the ones
that
remain
Knowing the kisses will
end makes
the ones now
so much more
special
There have been hundreds
of them maybe
a thousand plus
Each one with a
smile
Each one special
no more no less
than the last
until there is the
Last
And then that one will
Be the most special
And the saddest
As another chapter
Closes
And all that is
Left are the
Memories
Of those
Puckered lips
As I am handed one more
treat for Christmas from my
Love and the youngest
is handed one
too.
He reveals a key
a key to my car,
now
his
car
Which can only mean one thing
A key to my new car
in the small box in
my
hands
The key to my independence
freedom, the
key to the fateful
last
kiss
Bittersweet does not
describe the emotion
The thrill of my little
black
mini
But in the back of my mind
I realize those extra
kisses will be further
and further apart
until
they are gone
and the tears start but then
I realize these extra kisses
have morphed from
a daily thing
to a forever thing
Dropping him off at college
or at the airport
really any time he
gets out of the car
Those extra kisses
will keep coming
a forced tradition my new habit
from my lips towards
him
for which I am shameless
because I will do
whatever it takes
to keep the extra
kiss
from becoming the last
