Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Do You Remember?


Do you remember

the first time you held her in your hands?

When she took her first breath

before she shed her first tear?

Do you remember when she was so tiny

that you could barely feel her weight?

And her delicate frame filled up

just the palms of your hands?

Did you make promises to her

in the lullabies you sang?

As you rocked her and held

her close against your heart?

Did you tell her you would always

keep her safe from harm’s touch?

Did you thank god for placing her

into your hands?

What happens with the passage

of the hands upon the clock?

What happens to the bliss

and to the joy?

What happens to the tone

of the voice you speak in?

When did the look on your face

suddenly change?

 

Did you hear her crying deep

into the darkness of the night?

While she waited, begging

that you would come.

Did you hold her when the dreams

left her shaking and scared?

When so many nights

she just never went to sleep.

Do you know about the way

she turns her eyes down?

To keep from ever having

to meet their gaze.

Do you know about all of

 the times that she said yes?

Because of the anger that came

whenever she said no.

Do you know that even now

she is terrified of the dark?

And that she dreams of monsters

underneath her bed.

Do you know what she sees

when she looks into the mirror?

Do you remember the first time

you saw her face?

Ignorance is bliss for some,

for some the road to hell.

Judgment and choices

change forever in the blink of any eye.

Do you remember what you told her

the very first time she smiled?

Do you think any part of her

remembers that promise now?

 
 
 
Shared at dversepoets.com OLN

Also shared at Poets United for Mother's Day
there are many different kinds of mothers
this tale needs telling as well
 

17 comments:

  1. Poetry in question form - very effective. Poignant, thoughtful poem.

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  2. Oh, this jabs straight through the heart...very powerful. I like the questions because I imagine the anguish those questions produce (for the person questioning...I think the one being questioned could care less).

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  3. really a powerful piece...sobering a bit on the relationship with kids...and how it changes as well...its a perspective we have to keep as they grow..hard to answer some too...so much emotion embedded in those questions...wow....

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  4. I love how you questioned us within your poem... I have three boys, but I do remember. I do remember the beautiful feelings of holding them close as infants and I hate the bad feeling when I forget those memories and take them for granted as life gets hard.

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  5. it's a long way we go with them from that first time we hold them in our arms...mine are 18, 21 and 22 now...but even though we surely miss moments and things that bother and frustrate them, the connection stays or even gets stronger...

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  6. Wow, this packs a punch! Something all parents might do well to ponder.

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  7. Sad piece but an insightful probe into the influence of a parent on a child's maturation. Well done.

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  8. Back again for Poets United Mother's Day. This is very sad. I feel the daughter's pain and sadness. Sometimes it seems mothers don't realize the effect of their words (or lack of words), their actions (or their lack of actions) as their children grow. They don't realize the influence (and sometimes the harm) they have passed on & how it will live on.......for better, or (in this case) for worse.

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  9. A beautifully written reminder to all mothers. Let us never forget the love we felt when we first held our babies and no matter how many years or miles are between us, they are part of us and we of them and they always need our love.

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  10. Deep, powerful and piercing. This went straight through me.

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  11. This a hauntingly pretty piece. I imagined a soft lullaby as I read it.

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  12. Amen. Speak out for the ones not mothered by the trusted one, instead led into the Hell of pain and confusion by the very one who should have given them a loving beginning and a loving message about self. I will pray for recovery of atleast some of what was withheld.

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  13. This is powerful and honest and strikes straight to the heart. It makes me think of Maya Angelou and how she asks "do your eyes light up when your child walks into the room? Or does he only see the critical mother- face?" Yes, there are many types of mothers. Some who did not receive much love themselves, and therefore dont know how to show love, though they likely think they do love. I am so happy to read a poem about this other side, because it is there, definitely. Well done.

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  14. A rant of pain from child to mother which cuts very deeply. Nice rhythm and many questions to form a structure for the poem.

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  15. perceptions change but mother remains the same. a very powerful piece. The questions evoke the power of the verses!

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  16. A very wonderful poem............ I once used to see my friends moms and wonder how could a lady be like this.... Cause my mother is the sweetest thing that has ever happened for us..... She left all her interest and love just to be beside our side

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