Mom Loves To Scare Us

Mom Loves To Scare Us.

Denise scared me this morning.

As I ran up the stairs

She stood in wait

in the closet.

I jumped and then laughed 

And gave Denise a high five.

Denise is the mother our children.

Through her, my mother scared me this morning.

Our whole married life

We have copied this ritual

This hilarity my mother taught me:

Scare the bejeesus out of them

And then laugh.

My mom laughed when I fell.

She told me I did a great flip

Or she'd ask the table if I hurt it with my crash.

And then she'd laugh.

You don't need to suffer.

Look at the dog;

He bumps his head, shakes it off,

And continues to play.

And then she'd toss her head back and bark-laugh

Pretending to be a laughing dog.

She'd hide behind the couch,

Or the behind the curtain and wait

as we came in the door from school.

BOO! She'd jump out

And squelch our scream with her laughter.

When she wasn't laughing

She would listen to whomever

Or whatever was talking

She knew the plants could talk.

People told me what a good listener she was.

She was.

She listened with great interest

When I told her about my friends,

About what I did today.

She cried with me

When the police told me I couldn't

See my girlfriend

Because I looked like a Mexican

She stood beaming with pride

At the LA county Museum.

She giggled and pointed to my nude photo

Displayed on the Museum wall.

Take your clothes off so they know

It's you in the photo.

She had a magic side.

My mother knew somehow

When things were amiss,

Even 800 miles away.

She ran into the house

Her eyes pulling her to the phone.

“George are you OK?

What? Florinda got hit by a bus, just now?”

How did she know those things?

I know those things now.

Although I don't know how,

But I know.

Our mom had a sneaky smile

That got my gut to vibrate,

Knowing she was up to something,

Always something to make us laugh.