Paying Attention

My mother asks questions 

she doesn't want answers for 

are you still writing 

what are they doing 

when did that happen 

I finally learned, having spent
a lifetime listening to them

it's not recent behavior 

Her questions a prompt 

for me to ask about her 

Her short, sad answers 

laden with the pull of 

a boat, untethered

rope wrapped 

around my ankles, 

pulling me from shore 

I've learned to stand 

higher up the shore, 

away from the 

last tide's debris 

strewn in the 

damp sand 

between us