This Mothers’ Day:
Maybe your mother was the perfect mother
Maybe she carried you
bled for you
sang to you
smiled at you
nurtured you and marveled in you
Maybe she understood your essence
and was patient and let you unfold
in your own time and in your own way
honoring the heart of you all the while
Maybe your mother cared for you
Maybe she was there for you
long past childhood days
Maybe your mother worked for you
cooked for you, sewed for you
Maybe your mother listened to you
Maybe she held space for you
Maybe your mother laughed with you
played with you
stayed with you through all your years
Maybe your mother protected you
But
Maybe she neglected you
rejected you
Maybe she abandoned you
hard-handed you
betrayed you
flayed you
Maybe your mother couldn’t mother
Maybe your mother forgot you
Maybe your mother lost interest
Maybe she grew cold
Maybe she never really loved you
Maybe you were just her duty
for a little while
Maybe your mother did the best she could
with what she had
Maybe she was sick or sad
Maybe her mother was bitter or bad
and hurt her in her deepest parts
Now
Maybe you are a mother
Maybe you are a perfect mother
Maybe you pour abundant love into
your daughters, your sons
Maybe you delight in them
Maybe you struggle
Maybe you feel exhausted
resentful
lost and unseen
Maybe you feel nothing
Maybe you are just surviving
Maybe you are not a mother
but long to be a mother
Maybe you mother others
Maybe you don’t want to be a mother;
will never be a mother
Yet
We all need a mother
Yes, we do
And maybe there is a perfect mother
just for you
She is the mother of your mother
and your mother’s mother
and back as far as the eye can see
or mind can know
or soul can feel
to the first mother
Lie on the grass and feel her heart
You were formed of Her earth
You come from Her waters
Her winds kiss your cheek eternally
Her rains cry with you when you cry
and wash your wounds
She will heal you
nourish you
wait for you
She will give you beauty
She will give you joy
She will give you new life
again and again
She will always be there
to enfold you in Her embrace
when at last you return —
Maybe you have the perfect mother . . .
~ Rebekah Myers, A Perfect Mother
copyright © 5/9/2021 by Rebekah MyersSacredSistersFullMoonCircle