I have kept your advice, Mother,
adhered to it with a tenacity
you’d never believe me capable of.
I have locked my door every night
against monsters and intruders
burglar-proofed my not-enough-to-turn-in world
against would-be housebreakers.

Now –
Invisible to you –
I dissolve through
secret doors you never told me of.

But, why –
you are crying?
Mother!