mothers

youngest son
(grown man)
sends his most recent IM's
with smiling faces
shedding tears
& i think
"what is he trying to tell me?"
- i love you so much it hurts
- i'm broken inside, but still faking a smile
- please ask me what's wrong, i don't know where to begin . . .
finally
i can take it no longer
hunt down the giant scratched up magnifying glass
peer at the message on the pc screen
desperately trying to decipher this madness.
comparing emojis
i wisely conclude
that hands are white,
& tears are blue.
hands are white
& tears are blue.
those tiny white tears
are mini 'thumbs up'  
combined with a smile ~ 
a positive thing!
silly mother
misreading
a common cartoon
simply because 
he said
he missed 
me.