For The Mother In Us All

This is for the men, women, and gender non-conforming humans, 

Who dare to offer unconditional love. 

This is for the beaten, the oppressed, the scorned, and the abandoned,

Who reach beyond flawed, broken, ill-formed memories

To nurture and protect another human being. 

You are the mothers of the world. 

This is for the orphans, literal and figurative, 

Who spin up a complex vocabulary on intimacy

At a loom, or rather, in a world…

That provides no experience, pattern, or blueprint.

You are heroes in my eyes.

I salute your courage. 

This is for the strangers lurking in bars,

At half past too long.

Selflessly holding space, and swerving body,

Arms, hair, and pride from vomit.

This is for recounted hours on trains, park benches, and at kitchen tables,

Where meals of compassion were shared,

In solidarity.

This is for the moments formed in foreign bedrooms, and seedy corners

Where you listened…

Learning more about a stranger 

Than you had predicted possible, 

Or considered necessary.

I admire your generosity.

This is for the Teachers, Professors, 

Sages, Advisors, 

And Mentors.

Whose embraces provided a warmth and affection

You never received from your mother.

I applaud your consistency.

This is for the authority figures that broke the law,

To spare your dignity. 

For the Reverend Father that told you, “Sin is a matter of perspective…”

For that Rabbi that believed some lies were holy. 

Because surely, to spare pain and save lives, 

Must carry more weight in God’s eyes. 

This is for those who come with good intentions, 

But lacked the wisdom, insight, and understanding

To offer sturdy support. 

Your disappearances, ignorance, foot-in-mouth syndrome, and patronizing, 

Have all been forgiven.

For I have been each and every single one of you at a time. 

This is for those who struggle to love themselves every day,

After heartbreak, humiliation, degradation, 

And abuse.

Who put other noble battles on a shelf,

And have mastered the art of forgetting,

Because all energy is currently being channeled into a different kind of war. 

This is for those who while braving the jungles of survival,

Consider talk of “relationship” as mere folly - too far removed a fantasy.

A luxury one has no time to indulge in, yet powerfully craves. 

I salute your charisma, willpower, persistence,

And pray. 

That you know of the healing that solitude brings. 

Happy Nurture Day.   

© Adenike O. Akinbisehin, ‘For The Mother In Us All’.