Mom
By: Mylinh Nguyen
The last time I was home,
I didn’t see my mother much,
she’s always on her toes and running around.
Always putting the family first before herself,
she finally slows down and I take a glace,
within weeks of not being home, I notice
that she is aging. Her once black luscious hair
has some strands of grey. She’s getting old.
I never took time to appreciate
what she has done for me until now.
I am grateful to know ,
that I can count on her strength
when I need support.
She gave me faith and hope
when there was none.
I am grateful to know,
that her hand will
wipe away my tears.
Her voice will
take away my fear.
____________________________________
Poem of the Day: Mothers
BY NIKKI GIOVANNI
the last time i was home
to see my mother we kissed
exchanged pleasantries
and unpleasantries pulled a warm
comforting silence around
us and read separate books
i remember the first time
i consciously saw her
we were living in a three room
apartment on burns avenue
mommy always sat in the dark
i don’t know how i knew that but she did
that night i stumbled into the kitchen
maybe because i’ve always been
a night person or perhaps because i had wet
the bed
she was sitting on a chair
the room was bathed in moonlight diffused through
those thousands of panes landlords who rented
to people with children were prone to put in windows
she may have been smoking but maybe not
her hair was three-quarters her height
which made me a strong believer in the samson myth
and very black
i’m sure i just hung there by the door
i remember thinking: what a beautiful lady
she was very deliberately waiting
perhaps for my father to come home
from his night job or maybe for a dream
that had promised to come by
“come here” she said “i’ll teach you
a poem: i see the moon
the moon sees me
god bless the moon
and god bless me”
i taught it to my son
who recited it for her
just to say we must learn
to bear the pleasures
as we have borne the pains
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