Mother. Poem by Dorcas Tayire

In her womb, I laid
grew my hands, legs…
till I was fully formed.
Got out after nine months,
laid on her back,
In her arms,
On her laps…
She would snuggle me in her arms
and assure me of how much she loved me.

I will cry so hard,
sometimes she won't know why,
but to ease whatever pain she felt I had;
She'll sing lullabies to my ears,
Pace around the house,
Dance to the sound of love
That echoed in her heart.
Juggle me with love; beaming
From her eyes,
strap me unto her back
cup her breast into my mouth,
till my cries ceased from being heard.

She watched me crawl,
Watched me sit,
Watched me stand,
Watched me fall,
Watched me walk,
Watched me talk,
Watched me play,
And taught me how to pray.

From a baby who once couldn't talk,
Had no teeth, walked, stood, or ran…
I grew up to be a teenager.
As a teenager, we had many fights,
I troubled her but all she did was
inhale those troubles
and exhale love.

She became lean
to see me get fat.
She would sit me down to render advice.
Her knees always kissed the ground.
I watched my mother pray and fast.
I've seen her cry, I've seen her laugh.
But in between those lines.
There's this love,
…this affection she has
I watched her…,
I saw it all.
My mother after God, is all.