Learned behavior

[nibbed]

She stood in front of the pram
repeatedly smacking
into an unseen cry.
Greasy hair and dirty clothes
her body moved in a way
that hinted at issues
and sheltered housing.

No eye contact or opinion,
he was somewhere else
shrinking into the shopping center,
watching the automatic doors
in crisis.

I caught her hand                                                   best S, ever
holding on at the wrist,
she came back from behind her eyes,                                     
a sail boat emerging from a storm.                  

Its nappy was full
clothes covered in sick,
how could I explain what a child needs                                  
to a mother that needed the same?  



it would almost be better
if it was complete metaphor
and not an actual observance poem.  

nibbed