If by Bread

If “Bread” feels like a love song on the surface, for me, it’s about my mom.

Song: https://open.spotify.com/track/40W8Mm9t3ZO1iNQlls35lL?si=dceb6a42119a4d51

I lost her when I was seven. It’s been seventeen years, and the grief still lives in me because she was our home. So when the lyrics say, “There’s no one home, but you / You’re all that’s left me too,” it doesn’t land as romance—it sounds like losing your center. Like… where do you go, and how do you keep moving, when the person who made you feel safe isn’t here anymore?

And “When my love for life is running dry / You come and pour yourself on me” is exactly how she still shows up in my life. Even now, she’s my biggest source of motivation. When I feel empty, remembering her somehow fills me back up. “If a man could be two places at one time… Tomorrow and today” hits like a wish I’ll always carry.

Even if I only got seven years with her, I’d still choose her as my mother in any lifetime. Her strength and grace are the kind of love that keeps going—long after she couldn’t.