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Mother May I

by Sandy M. Humphrey

A disembodied voice cannot comfort
When cellular reaching into the past
Grasping at straws
Awkwardly angling for attention
Trying to fit puzzle pieces
Of dysfunctional family
Neatly into “matriarchal control” box
Once again

No need to smother
Mother when I have already
Grown past the pain
Learned how to deal with the blows
Of trauma buried and unearthed
Let the skeletons out and breathed
Life into the monsters on my own
So I learned not to fear but to
Embrace my inner child
And forgive us all

Forgiveness is yours
To give at this point
Asking for mine is grandstanding
You are not seeking to comfort
Yet to be comforted once again
By what I have already learned
Parentifying roles switched just
As they were then
Are you asking
Me to give you absolution
For something only you can give
I need not be present
For it to occur all you need is God

10/09/2007

Posted on 10/09/2007
Copyright © 2024 Sandy M. Humphrey

Member Comments on this Poem
Posted by Gabriel Ricard on 10/10/07 at 04:18 AM

Good message. Very nicely expressed, too.

Posted by Kathleen Wilson on 10/10/07 at 08:31 PM

Fascinating inner dialogue-- imagined, I think, with mother--(or really it could be any of the family who shared the experience)-- asking for forgiveness (solace)... it is quite a moment--when these kinds of realizations happen and the past talks to the present... you have depicted it well... and the reaction to this asking... rich in history, and strong feeling, presented with a powerful, sure voice.

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