Mum

You carried me You kept me safe You were my voice when I didn’t have one You birthed me And in doing so I took piece of you with me As if being leeched off was not punishment enough? You then cared for me You fed me I took even more from you Your body was the price for my life When my voice came through You taught me how to speak You helped me navigate this crazy world You were my cheerleader, coach, nurse and chef Sixteen years passed and you had earned a break But I was an unforgiving force of nature A whirlwind of hormones and adamant I knew better I screamed at you I stayed out all hours I abused the body you spent nine months incubating When I deserved to be shouted at and kicked out You put me back together And when I shouted Your compassion screamed back at me Seven years pass by I see you as Sharon as well as mum My eyes blur from the tears forming As I think of all I put you through You laugh and say, well it was my turn I look at you with confusion The guilt of my past behaviour weighing down on me You say, where do you think you got it from? I continue to look at you with bewilderment so you continue Jamie, you have nothing on how bad I was… I put your nana through nearly double the worry than you did to me You wrap me in the safety of your arms And my crying turns to laughter You take my face into your hands and say "Just wait till its your daughter Then you'll understand"