I Am (You) Poem by Eric Cockrell

i am...
the shadow inside your shadow,
your breath, and your smell.
the memories of your childhood,
and the day your father died.
the cats that came one by one,
the forty dollar runaway.
the forbidden love, and the dare,
the loss, the grave never tended.
i am childbirth, and the baby,
nursing at your breast.
i am the snake in the garden,
the spider in the outhouse.
the kerosene heater, and the iron skillet.
i am the galvanized bathtub,
the water bucketed up the hill.
i am the want of spring,
the passion of summer,
the turning of autumn,
the final stillness of winter.
i am the voice inside your voice,
the hurt, and the fatal wound.
i am the tear not cried,
and the wind that cries your name!