Mother and Son.(Poem)

 
MOTHER AND SON 
 
   I must be less 
   than eighteen months old-- 
   naked, in my mother's arms, 
   face pressed against hers 
   as if danger was nearby. 
 
   We're standing 
   in an empty field 
   with a hill in the background. 
   Thistles and weeds 
   grow around us, at our feet. 
   The sky's a total blank. 
 
   With my arms wrapped 
   around her neck 
   she is smiling a smile of pure love. 
   You can see it in her eyes. 
   Her feet are planted 
   firmly on the ground. 
   Her floral dress hangs in folds. 
   There is something courageous 
   about the way she stands. 
 
   The setting is a Displaced Persons' camp 
   in northern Germany 
   after the end of World War II. 
   She has no husband 
   and I have no father. 
   Does ...