Spin Cycle: Poetry

We get to post an original poem for this week's Spin Cycle, and I chose one of mine that I think speaks to this midway point I find myself at, both in mothering and in life.

 

Without Them

I count on so much:
Wiping away tears when you take your vows,
unable to vanquish your chocolate-stained
two-and-a-half year-old face from my brain.

Watching you hold your newborn,
enlightenment dawning in your exhausted eyes.

You visiting me, old and ancient enough
for you to spoon pudding into my mouth
as we sit and watch movies, arms touching
till I nod off.

My love for you is the standard
by which all emotions are sifted, measured;
it appears I could not live without it.
And while that might be an illusion,
surely without you it would not be life.

It would be something long and treacherous.
A winding mountain road in a blizzard,
to be endured, slogged through,
knowing that windshield wipers are useless
and headlights will never allow more than
a few feet of visibility-
not nearly enough to show clearly that what comes next
may not always be more of the same.

 

For more Poetry Spins please go visit Sprite's Keeper.

 

 

Comments

[vodkamom]

amazing.

Simply amazing.

[SuziCate]

One word...STUNNING!

[Ocean Girl]

It is beautiful Maureen. Life, everything to be grateful for and everything to pray for.

[Sprite's Keeper]

Exactly. Exactly!
I need to go bust my kid out of daycare jail and hug her. And remind her that I like chocolate pudding.
You're linked!

[Peg]

That was so awesome! Very emotion provoking and I know EXACTLY how you feel. GREAT spin. I am in awe.

[Jan]

I, too, am in awe, being poetically challenged. This is simply WONDERFUL.

[Mama Badger]

I am not crying. No, I'm not. You can't prove that. This was beautiful.

[Gretchen]

Beautiful! I'm terribly impressed!

[LPC]

"it appears I could not live without it.
And while that might be an illusion,
surely without you it would not be life."

Thank you.

[Sarah]

"Surely without you it would not be life." It makes me all kinds of uncomfortable just to imagine my life without these children. Without being their mother. Without weathering the range of emotions that we feel together. It's almost like there's this little bit of guilt for even having the thought that I could have had another life. But I don't really mind the guilt. Because it stops the thoughts. And let's me know that I am right where I am supposed to be. Living the life, doing the mom thing, weathering the storms. Ahhhh...

[dreamfarmgirl]

I love "arms touching." It captures so much with that small moment. Your imagery throughout is strong, and the poem really captures motherhood at this stage, and the complete emptiness having it taken away would bring.

[Casey]

Ok Maureen, you gave me goosebumps. That's not an easy thing to do.

Great poem.

[Tracie]

That was an amazing poem. I'm going to share it on my FB page. Just wonderful.

[Twenty Four At Heart]

That's an amazing poem. I'm quite impressed.
At the same time?
I don't want to get oooooooooollllllllllllldddddddd!

[Linda at Bar Mitzvahzilla]

Lovely, Maureen!

[~The South Dakota Cowgirl~]

Beautiful!

[BigLittleWolf]

This is beautiful, Maureen. And your close, especially poignant.

[Diane]

oh my, I'm almost ready to tear up - that is such a powerful description of love. Thanks for sharing.

[Jane]

So beautiful! And captures the uncertainty, familiarity, comfort and wonder that is motherhood.

[kathryn]

Wow.....I mean....WOW.

It is breathtakingly perfect...

It's all there...the pain and uncertainty of letting them go...the wonder at how far they've come...the joy of watching them grow.

Wow.

[Heather]

Really good. I don't usually do poetry, but glad I took the time.

[Vincent]

Is there a worthwhile beginning and end to that middle.
Remember your Maureen carries something more than Geocaching. ;)

[Lora]

this is gorgeous

[Christopher (AKA: CaJoh)]

It shows just how much we cherish those around us and the fear we have if those things are not there when we need them.

Thanks for sharing,

[Patty]

Wow, your poem brought tears to my eyes. Thanks for sharing.

[Stacia]

Oh, wow, this has me sniffling. Especially the line "Without you it would not be life." What was my life like before my children?? Surely it was not as rich or joyful. But my children have become such a huge part of my life that I can't even remember the days before them (except for, well, the sleeping-in part).

[canada goose nettbutikk]

I together with my pals appeared to be taking note of the good helpful hints from your web site then before long got a horrible suspicion I never expressed respect to the website owner for those strategies. Those men were definitely for this reason stimulated to read through all of them and have pretty much been tapping into these things. I appreciate you for getting really kind and for opting for some decent ideas most people are really wanting to know about. My sincere apologies for not expressing appreciation to you earlier.

[essay paper]

This just shows how sweet and loving you are as mother. And this just inspires me to not just love and take care of my kids but at least express my love and how thankful I am to have them by means of writing a poem. I'm so glad you share this, thank you!