Mother, your limbs were strong and green
when I was wet and alien,
small and clenched,
and you held me as I
lengthened,
first steps… first grade… my first
job…
as I left in summer
for lakes,
for leeway:
your hands on my shoulders, your breath in my hair
over college loans and classes,
same as now,
how you stand behind me,
arms aloft in blessing
while my arms warm
another tight green bud,
another breath
growing strong upon ancestral rings.
Labels: breastfeeding, family, gratitude, memories, motherhood, poetry