Mama
A poem of first love
Just 18 years old when she ushered me in
This woman I’d always call mom
The touchstone of love, support, and hope
When life became less than calm
This warrior spirit sustains a soul
whose challenges have been plenty
married with child, moved away from her home
all before she turned twenty
At age 28, she sustained a blow
that few could easily survive
Both parents lost, separate tragic events
The grief too hard to contrive
With a daughter and son and bills to pay
She stuffed it all within
Emotions buried so deeply inside
Created armor too thick to break-in
This woman has shown me so many things
independence, confidence, and strength
her unending help and support of my ways
is sometimes pushed to great length
She and my dad show a standard of love
in this era, infrequently seen
They’ve never strayed for one single day
since they were both just a teen
She’s not well, my mom, and it scares me so
and I know it also scares her
But we don’t speak of it much for the fear of it all
and the grief and pain it might stir
But I want her to know how incredibly proud
I am to have her as mine
How blessed that I am that the God of this world
brought our souls here and now to entwine
How I know a deep trust of my instincts because
she told me to be true to my gut
She patiently waited while I got lost
knowing I’d finally show up
I’m lucky to have the kind of mom
who remains my biggest fan
Who told me to go embrace the world
But never let go of your clan
A big scary day is coming soon where
my mom will go under the knife
There’s every reason to think the result of this thing
will be her return to real life
Still, I want her to know that I love her more
than words can possibly say
And I’m grateful she bravely stood her ground
and fought for me back in the day
I believe with my heart that our spirits choose
the parents we get in this time
I’ll have to say, though human they are
my decision for me was sublime
