Motherhood
To mother means to tug and fret
like a terrier
at the fringes of our children’s lives
as they unravel
a sweater here, a blanket there.
Is the larder full?
Don’t forget! and
have you got?
Will they be warm enough
Will there be enough
for everyone
enough food enough love enough room
Will there be room
for them all
Will they have room
enough for me
Creative Arts student Linda, wrote this poem in the first part of her Writing Skills course. “I had never written a poem before and was afraid I wouldn’t be able to – but I followed the instructions and hey – something happened.”
Asking why she chose the subject she did Linda responded, “It was when I was watching my daughter in law get my grandsons ready for two trips – one to his first term at university, and the other to his first camp away from home. It struck me how much mothers put into their children in order to make them confident and competent human beings – and when they are, they leave. Which is as it should be, of course, but it can leave an unexpectedly empty space behind.”
7 thoughts on “Motherhood”
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One of the many things I love about being involved in the learning of creative processes, is the risk-taking it encourages, even demands. It’s great to see the writing of other students posted. Hard to believe this is a first poem ever!
I particularly like the word “unravel”, coming as it does at the end of a line, making me pause and dwell longer. The meaning of psychological unravelling occured to me first, but I dismissed it when presented with the jumper and blanket, only for it to re-emerge in the end of the final stanza, where the repetition of “enough” suggests to me quite a strong feeling of desperation.
Of course, we all take different things from what we read, but this seemed like a clever deivce.
Thanks for sharing.
Alison
This is a wonderful, easy flowing poem, Linda. I enjoyed reading it very much. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Carlie
Thank you! I am still amazed at having written a poem, and tickled pink at seeing it on the website (I guess they didn’t have many others 🙂
I did mean unravelled in the way you suggested, Alison, and I had a picture in my mind of the umbilicus, as that unravels too – except that it never fully does, psychologically. It keeps getting tugged on. Anyone is welcome to take what they like from the poem, I’d love to hear, as it was quite emotional for me.
“I guess they didn’t have many others” – don’t do yourself a disservice Linda! I really enjoyed reading your poem.
It reads a little like my own internal monologue at times – particularly “enough food enough love enough room” which just mirrors the racing thoughts I had when adding a second child to my brood!
Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
This is a really lovely poem. As a Granny, the last line resonated with me. Well done Linda… keep writing.
This is beautiful, but it’s also terrifying. It gripped my stomach as I read. My kids are grown now, but it took me straight back to the total absorption of being a mother. I loved ‘tug and fret like a terrier’ – a strong rhythm to it and the perfect choice of words (‘dog’ would have weakened it, for instance – it’s always good to be specific) and I loved the way you switched the emotions round at the end. Do keep writing, Linda, won’t you.
Strikes straight to the heart of motherhood.Well done!