Mother (a poem)

I was born 

between the strength 

of her thighs

through water and blood,

the agony and ecstasy,

using muscles I do not own

experiencing contraction pain 

I will never feel.

Soaked

in pools of sweat 

and cries of determination 

demonstrating a resolve 

I could never imagine. 

She is fierce. 

She is wisdom. 

She is Mother Earth. 

Eve is her name. 

She is called

Hagar,

Rahab,

Elizabeth,

Mary,

Fatimah,

Akshara,

Sofia,

Li Na.

Her pain is her resistance. 

We are her progeny;

evidence of her strength.  

Our lives are called to echo 

the audacity of her hope 

for we are her children. 

We call her 

mother.

  — bshivers