Motherhood

I was invited last weekend to an event for women who don’t have human children, but thought perhaps they would, but now likely won’t. Included in the loving invitation was the opportunity to share something poem-y. I wrote two things in the days leading up to Mother’s Day. One has already made its way to my instagram feed. But the other, shared here in the lines that follow, is my unedited poetic musing about motherhood pointing to how much more expansive motherhood is than what our society celebrates on Mother’s Day.

Thanks be to all those that mother in their various ways. Thanks for holding us.

May you, too, feel held.

Motherhood

I didn't think it'd be this way

it's not the it's bad, i would say

the desire still lives on

strong, sometimes buried

sometimes unknown

but mothering is caring

mothering is birthing

mothering is helping

mothering is nurturing

mothering is bonds that shows us how to get along

in your mother's eyes

might be how you first saw the divine

what a gift to give to another

a gift that transcends blood & time

caring for trees and bees

for the birds and the herds

caring for the dogs and cats

& strangers at the laundromat

birthing healing spaces

looking others directly in their faces

letting our presence shine

while allowing others to belong

making homes where friends long to be

hosting yoga under the cypress tree

tending to circles for folx to be wild & free

feeling the pain of the world

making a future that's better to see

peace & reconciliation

we help others on their way

knowing ourselves

aiding others to make it through another day

communication, it's not too much

communication, building trust

vulnerability, it binds us together

love beyond borders & birds of a feather

we have the power to end wars

let's tell out lovers, stop evening the score

feminine courage it'll take us far places

suppressed no more

let's stand for those in dark spaces

-esb

May you always see the blessing.