She got four A levels
last year
our Sue.
Three 'B's and an 'A'
That's 34 points.
I was telling everybody
even strangers out shopping.
People at work were sick of me
boasting
going on about University,
ball-gowns
grants
freshers' conferences.
Then the big day came
and Sue went
I cried for a fortnight
at home mostly
then one time at work,
til somebody said,
"Well, why did you let her go, then?"
I was too choked at the time to say
that Sue had to begin her selfhood
by walking away
and I had to prove my love
by the letting go.
But still
nobody at work has ever heard of
C Day Lewis.
Yet, you'd think they could understand
a Mother's love, though,
Wouldn't you?
by
Shirley Frances Winskill 1997
