The Mothers in My Family

The mothers in my family move mountains

Pull up the sun 

Draw back the moon 

And daydream about sunny days in the Spanish villas where the smell of oranges get stuck under your nose

The mothers in my family swallow 

Words

Knives 

Tears

Show no emotions because it’s too early to tell whether it is worth their energy or not 

The mothers in my family become rubber bands 

Arms so long 

They make sure no one gets left behind and if they fall 

gravity is no such thing

The mothers in my family sing to the moon 

Talk to flowers 

Let the wind take them by the hand 

And even then, they end up knocking on God’s door

The mothers in my family know how to read eyes

Invite you over for coffee and with one look

Can tell you your future before you even know yourself

They can tell you are going to be successful by the way your shoulders carry your head

The mothers in my family brush my hair 

They brush and offer ideas and motivation and dreams so they can cling onto my loose strands 

I will later say “Hey, I thought about what you said”

And she will look at me and say “I know”

The mothers in my family fed me so much culture 

They imprinted my identity into my soul 

I can get backhanded for daring to forget who i am 

Like they didn’t work on me being my best self and to treat myself how I do not deserve would be disrespectful to us all

The mothers in my family have fought

Against stigmas 

Rumors 

Running currents and long forgotten futures

But they stand bared footed in soil that smells like mint

They watch the roots intertwine with the Earth and call it home

The mothers in my family are home

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• mothers day