how are you?

what are you doing
way over
here, your mother asks
as you go to visit.
you are carrying
a plant.
candy. your hat
is in your hands.
you had to sit
in your car before
going in and cry
there. she asks
you how you are.
your son. work.
then she stares out
the window
at a robin sitting
on the sill.
look at the bird
she says, smiling.
her hair like
silver silk
has been brushed back
by someone
who has never known
how she wears it.
she turns back to
you. what are you doing
way over here, she
says. when did
you get here?
how are you?