Mother - A poem by Shani

Mother

Mother, best friend, soulmate

Light and dark, my counter opposite

Her hair is wheat, mine the night

She is fierce, she is brave, she is my mother

Mother, best friend, protector

She has borne me on her back since I was a babe

Her loveliness shatters my soul

She is strong, she is courageous, she is my mother

Mother, best friend, guardian

Shoved to the ground, feet pounding, pounding, pounding

Knives piercing the flesh on her back – she is trampled on.

Bloody and beaten, she stands, a gentle smile stitched on her face

“Always be kind, my love, always be kind,”

She is bold, she is reckless, she is my mother

Mother, best friend, confidante

She defends her dainty daughter, like a threatened lioness

And when I struggle, she struggles, when she bleeds, I bleed

She is passionate, she is valiant, she is my mother

Mother, best friend, survivor

A disease is slowly breaking her bones

Hours, doubled over in never ending agony

Cups of lukewarm tea left abandoned on the coffee table

She is relentless, she is daring, she is my mother

Mother, best friend, optimist

I think she sees the world in technicolour

I only see the world in trickles of grey.

She is fierce, she is brave

My mother is the woman I want to be.