Spit

Spit is used by mothers
to clean a dirty face
and glue down hair
that refuses to lie flat
as paper.

Spit also affirms the bond
between the mother and child
though a boy will squirm
and lean farther away
and farther.

Spit preserves respect
except where it infects
and there is no cure:
so the boy is returned to heaven,
no postage charged.

Still, what would a mother do
without tissue or hankie in a purse,
up a sleeve, or tucked down
in a powdered bosom;

at church or school,
wherever a child may be seen
by inspecting others: most especially
teachers and mothers?

For the situation
when either saliva runs dry
or Mom has an oral infection,
there are antiseptic wipes
that do kill germs

and can be used on offending faces;
not as binding as motherly spit,
but there replace
tissue or hankie or tongue,
leaving spit for hair.