Mothering

"The Bath" by Mary Cassatt

Decades ago

One mother

Left me

Choosing some form of righteous path

Abandoning the straining fibers linking

Her to me

Snipping every tendon separate.

I could feel lost

But other mothers

Found me

Fed me with caring

Showed me what love is

Sewed together the ties that had been torn

To themselves

And made me whole again

Mothers of their own choosing

They picked me

And so many others in need

To encourage and help

With smiles and pats and advice

And now

To follow their example

I mother

Not just the children

Tied to me through biology

But all the others

Abandoned and snipped apart

Seeking solace and love

In the embrace of another mother.