You asked me to hang windchimes

And I did

Even though I hate them

The thought of them

Blowing in the breeze

Irritates me

The sound of them clinking

A grating in my ear

That I don’t want to hear

Yet I hung them

It is not my house

But will always be my home

Even after i venture

Into the unknown

And in the future

Seeing a windchime

Reminds me of you

Wherever I am

Or wherever my path takes me

Windchimes equals you

And sometimes when i walk past your house

I stop for a moment to stare

At the tens of twenties of windchimes

Decorating your front porch

And I remember

You asking me to hang them yes,

But also

Growing up

The warm caring hungs

And the hard embraces 

How you wiped my tears when i cried

When my first boyfriend dumped me

And you told me 

Everything would be alright

I remember the day we said goodbye

To our grandfather

But also so much more

The simple simplicity of what we had known

Was gone in the blink of an eye

The terrifying day 

Where i moved out –

Without you for the very first time

I cried the entire drive

Terrified

And wanting you there

With your windchimes

.

You asked me to hang you windchimes

And i scoffed

And moaned

And groaned

The clank of their strings

And heavy metal things

Did nothing but make me eyes roll

But even as i hung them

I saw my memories

Your arm in mine

On my wedding day

Walking me down the aisle

And wishing me luck

The way you smiled

When I moved into my new home

And how you helped me learn and grow

I don’t know what happened

Or when

I grew from a child

To a woman

But the need in my chest

Never disappears 

And you are the number one person I call

And even if I hate the windchimes

I will hang them

Every single time

Because one day you might not be there

And I will need the sound

Of the heavy metal clank

As it moves in the wind

To be my warm embrace

Have I told you enough that I love you?

That you are the best mother in the world?

You asked me to hang windchimes

And i did

Even though I hate them