Between Bruises & Blooms

They measured me in paperwork,
In signatures and sworn replies.
They weighed my worth in courtrooms
Instead of looking in my eyes.

They never heard the lullabies
That floated through our quiet nights.
They never saw the scraped-up knees
Or counted every little fright.

They only saw a stack of files,
A story stripped of all its breath.
How do you prove a mother’s love
When every page feels cold as death?

So I sit beneath fluorescent lights,
Hands trembling in my lap.
Listening while strangers try
To redraw my family’s map.

But love has never needed stamps,
Or judges dressed in black.
My boys have always known my voice,
And love will lead them back.

One day they’ll ask the questions
No courtroom could explain.
And I’ll still be here waiting,
With open arms through every pain.