Poems

I am my mother's child

Date written: July 17th, 2023

I am my mother's child
Her last child that she looks over
Her last child in the house

When I am gone
That house will be empty of laughs and smiles and children and pets
When I am gone
She will look at the portraits on her wall of her kids
Seeing how we've grown
Seeing how we've changed
Seeing what she should've done to make our lives better

I used to hate her
Glare at her as she entered the room
Glare at her as she acted like everything was right
When everything was wrong
I glared for years
I shouted and cried
I was the troublemaker
I was the change
I was the child

But she held me still
She cared for me still
She listened still
And for that I am grateful

I am my mother's daughter
The daughter that cried whenever she yelled
The daughter that remarked honestly
With no filter to hold her back
The daughter that danced freely
The daughter that didn't know what she was taught was wrong

This girl would dance on stage
With groups of girls who were better than her
With insecurities running up her legs and arms like spiders and ants
Her mother would bring her
Watch her satisfied from a distance
But this girl didn't believe a word
When her mother said
That she was proud

I am my mother's son
The son that sang in his room and in the shower
Even though that he knew everyone could hear his voice crack as he belted
The son that laughed in his room, or with his sisters, or at the dinner table
The son that knew what was right and held to his beliefs

This boy would act on stage
With a cast that believed in him
With a cast that helped him grow
With a cast that accepted him
So this boy belonged on this stage,
Acting as characters and changing his costumes behind curtains
His mother was proud
His mother gratified at him
But this boy couldn't stop thinking
That he was like his sister

I used to hate my mom
But she held me still
She cared for me still
She listened still
And for that I am grateful.