The Kind of Mother I Try to Be
As present as the Luna Moth
Who knows she has only these seven days, and how quickly they will fly
Dance in the nighttime lunar glow, moonbeams bathe
This is how it’s done
As giving as the Forest
Take my shelter- arms, my quiet shade
From my body –womb, blood, warmth, milk
Nourish, grow
As hard-working as the Water Droplet
Now a rainstorm, now a wellspring, now a cloud
Rest, sometimes, briefly in that space between leaf and stem
Before the sun finds me
As constant as the Moon
Luna Moth’s white Moon, waxing, waning
Disappearing now and then- can she help it?
Always coming back, bright and new
As patient as the Poet
Breathing words, sweating words
Try again- don’t give up now
Until, in time, the sonnet
As selfless as the Heavenly Mother
(if there is Father, does it not stand to reason there is Mother as well?)
Never the object of devotion, subject of sermons, taken in vain
But always there
Not to be stopped from loving.
