The greatest pain
I have ever known
is the pain of motherhood

When my Sunshine is crying
and there’s nothing I can do,
or worse,
because of what I’ve done,
it feels unbearable,
and yet

my mother
and all mothers before her
bore this pain.

Motherhood begins with pain,
and lives alongside it.

Is such a dark foil necessary
to appreciate its joys?
I think not...
There is nothing brighter
than my Sunshine’s laughter.

But then again,
I’ll never know.
I’ve only ever seen their brilliance
set against this darkness.