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There are dreams I’ve folded, tucked away tight,
Like old forgotten clothes, out of mind, out of sight.
One dream is my family, proud, happy, and strong,
But in truth, they’re splintered, fighting who’s right, who’s wrong.

Another was of healing, of wearing a vet’s coat,
Or moving the masses with the words that I wrote.
Helping the helpless, animals small and in need,
A life lived in service, a world I could lead.

I dreamt of a wedding, a dress pure as snow,
Walking the aisle, to see your smile’s glow.
I dreamt of a farm, vast and self-sustained,
With crops that thrive and animals well-trained.

But the dream I can’t fold, the one that won’t fade,
Is the thought of a child, a love never swayed.
It’s wrapping gifts from “Santa” late Christmas Eve,
It’s seeing you hold them, as they sleep and believe.

It’s watching them grow, teaching what’s right,
Helping them learn from what keeps them up at night.
This dream, I hold close, though I dare not say,
It lingers with me, every step, every day.

I don’t ask for this dream, nor expect it to be,
But it clings to my heart, a part of me.
Folded, yet vivid, it whispers, not yet,
For some dreams stay alive, though they’re placed in regret.
Sara Barrett Jan 11
Boxes became my constant companions,
each house a temporary heartbeat.
I built homes with one hand holding a child,
the other gripping resilience.
A glimpse into the life of a mother constantly on the move, where each new house represents both a fresh start and an ongoing struggle. This poem captures the emotional weight of packing up a life, balancing motherhood with the physical and mental toll of relocation. With resilience as her foundation, she rebuilds, transforming each temporary space into a home, one box at a time.
Sara Barrett Jan 11
Her silence speaks louder
than any word could.
Tubes, charts, and prayers—
my love navigates them all.
A heartfelt exploration of a mother’s deep love for her non-verbal child, where silence speaks louder than words. This poem showcases the strong bond between mother and child, with the mother's unwavering strength and compassionate devotion helping her navigate medical complexities.
Sara Barrett Jan 11
At nineteen, I became a mother,
a title that shook the stars—
barely an adult, but now a world-builder,
my dreams reshaped by tiny hands.
A poignant reflection on becoming a mother at nineteen, where the joy of welcoming new life is tempered by the weight of responsibility. This poem captures the growth of a young woman as she embraces the challenges and rewards of motherhood, her dreams reshaped by the needs of a child.
Adriana Jan 3
At the window sill I sit to weep my sorrows
Ugly birds join in on my grief
Their hard caws echo my sorry cries
In mourning I have become a bird as unsightly
As grieving crows in barren trees

Why might I weep a loss not lived?
A child's tears I stopped from spilling
Caw ugly birds, for your sorrows
So I might join your wretched song
To pour my troubles to cold skies

Hands made to hold the world, cannot hold a wide-eyed child
Foul cries, like ugly caws, do not comfort
Wipe your eyes youngling, you will never have to caw to the skies
Stop weeping creature, thought you might only cradle dreams
Leave the birds to weep for you
I will never be a mother
The path of life I once beheld,
Until I agreed to be born into this world,
I knew the reason without a doubt—
You, destined to be my mother.

In a world of right and wrong, painted gray,
Your color shines as white to me
In another life with or without choice,
I choose you.
Jamie K Dec 2024
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.
https://arewe.love/rs/the-mothers-foil/
Elizabeth Kelly Dec 2024
It’s dry and still in the house this afternoon,
The way houses are at 4:00 in December.
I feel a little itchy and claustrophobic,
Sitting on the floor.
I hate this ******* carpet.
Berber.

I know you love me,
But sometimes I wish you would let me destroy myself completely.

Darkening winter gray settles over us in a dull film,
Berber carpeting the world.
It seeps into the house through cracks in the doorframe you kicked down when we were locked out that night.
Into me too, coating my brain and joints and dreams in liquid fog.
The streetlights will be dark awhile yet.

Cotton ***** fill up my mouth
And I’m fine, just fine.
My grandmother’s favorite color was gray before people awarded points for such things.

It’s nearly night, now, and the sky swirls with peek a boo pink and blue where the clouds are thin and blowing.
No streetlights yet.
The shadows gather at their feet.
I pull out the spaghetti;
Time to start dinner.
Elizabeth Kelly Dec 2024
You were born on a Wednesday.
It was snowing, I think.
I nearly died, and you too,
My blood pressure screaming as your heart rate bobbed and weaved,
A reaction to the terrible ordeal of being born.

The night I learned you were a girl
I lay in bed alone and asked you about yourself.
What is your name?
Beatrice,
you said.
Bee.
A name all your own, belonging to only you.
Beatrice the First:
Shakespeare’s snap dragon heroine;
Dante’s ethereal guide.
Traveler and pollinator;
Wings and a stinger.

Daddy was scared but I didn’t know until later.
He made jokes and played “Something’s Rattling, Cowpoke” by Ben Gibbard on the Bluetooth and held my right leg when it was time to push.

And suddenly there you were.
More alive than the Holy Spirit on Sunday morning,
Bigger than poetry
Bright as a technicolor daydream
And so substantial.
We did it. We made it.

The Tibetans believe that we are all wandering souls.
That crazy movie, Enter the Void, I think about it all the time.

We choose.

Did you choose me?
A willful, chronically sleep-deprived, anxious mess?
How did you know it would work out?
How did you know that my life would not start until, with an audience of doctors and nurses and your family, you were laid in my arms that cold night?
I have such doubts but this I know:
I will choose you every moment of every day and  still
it will not be enough to repay you for giving me the gift of yourself.
Shley Dec 2024
Putting on the smile in the morning that is my makeup.
Putting on joy and confidence as my clothing.
I do it for my children.
They don't need to know it's only skin deep.
I will make myself into whatever they need to have the childhood I longed for.
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