Happy Mother’s Day! I learned how to be a mother from my own mother.
New Dialect
I must learn my own language of motherhood,
find the words that fit comfortably
around my tongue.
I have listened to the voice of my mother
and extracted from her words a version
of my own motherhood, separate and different
than hers, however familiar.
I am claiming my own language.
I am protecting my round belly
with my skin, my hands and my decisions.
I am harvesting love, planting seeds of strength,
raking my mind for words to till.
I am weaving my motherhood from my past,
the present and our future.
Kayla Fioravanti from When I was Young I Flew the Sun Like a Kite
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