This mother's love

This mother's love is like a head wound
Magnificent, glistening, terrifying
Gushing out over hair and scalp
And the only question isn't when the blood will stop
But what if it never stops
Leaving less and less blood to run my body

This mother's love is like a waterfall
In the months of winter's thawing
As it bubbles over rocks and pebbles
Coursing over grass and the river's boundaries
Sinking into more and more land that was
Never asked to hold it

This mother's love is hungry and needy
Bewildered and wide-eyed
Sick like a broken pen or a bin with a hole
That should still be useful as something other than
What it was made for
What was it made for

This mother cooks breakfast after you've punched
She wipes the walls of the meds you've spit out
She reaches out to teachers
Asking them to be patient
Checks your pockets to make sure you haven't robbed
And plants a kiss on your cheek to say goodbye

Have a good day (please don't hit)
Have a good day (take deep breaths)
Have a good day (stay in the classroom)
Have a good day (be quiet and listen)
Have a good day (please don't make them call her)
I love you (let her have a good day)

This mother's love is like a willow tree
Strong and thick
Passionate as the water that feeds it
But bending with the wind
Cracking
No snaps yet

This mother's love prays
Like a swimmer going under
For the therapist to make a connection
The social worker to say the right thing
The correct dosage, something
Stick to the wall and stay

This mother's love is a puma
Fierce, straining, ready to pounce
You are a struggling boy
You hurt
She collects your pieces after you crunch hers
Watching the horizon with bloodshot eyes

This mother's love gargles with your laughter
Cherishing
Believing it can save her
Watching the light in your creative eyes
Sparkle and shimmer
Like snow under holiday lights

This mother's love is unconfident
Knowing was supposed to come to her, automatic
Like someone who has fallen
She stands and shakes it off
Looks to see if someone is watching
Laughing, pitying, or
Anyone offering to help

Photo by Zhenya on Unsplash

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