On When My Son Told Me I Ruin Everything
When his friends came camping but no one got up to help with the breakfast or pack the lunch. So no, we could not do that daylong hike. How they ran out into the dark because their dad told them they could visit the lake. How no one gave them a time to come back or a marker to stop at. How my daughter tells me I am the thing in the way of her freedom.
How my hands shake. Oh the tiny blue bird that is my heart. How mistaken we were
about what mothering means. To father is to lie down for a while in the grass.
See me build the fire, see me say the protection spells. The words fall like soldiers from my mouth.
Oh the incantations. One day you might thank me. Or I could die waiting.
But I am not supposed to say this. A martyr isn’t a martyr if they say that they are.
And isn’t that what is still required.
12 replies on “On When My Son Told Me I Ruin Everything”
Fabulous!!
I love this!
Wonderful! My daughter told me I ruined feminism for her.
Oh wonderful, wonderful❤️
Beautiful. This, my friend, is when you know you are doing it right :)
I like it especially this line “How my daughter tells me I am the thing in the way of her freedom.” I am still trying to escape.
You captured it
Building the fire, one day you might thank me, it’s all we’ve got. Wonderful, Linda
Brilliant and heart-breaking. This captures so well how the gifts of love mutate into a disrespect for our labor and our souls.
You are a wonderful poet!! Your words have always transported me. You, and our friend Susan Palumbo, just marvelous. I am so glad you shared this!
Kathryn
Simply gorgeous.
Thank you so much for sharing this. It is honest and beautiful, comforting and heartbreaking.