I <br />Among thirty newborns crying, the perfect mother’s ear <br />Heard only the squeaky voice of her own child <br /> <br />II <br />Mothers can be borrowed or adopted <br />It is not obligatory to be of their womb <br /> <br />III <br />A mother kissed her child. It was only pretend <br />A mother hit her child. It was out of love. <br /> <br />IV <br />A man and woman together make a mother <br />Whether the baby lives or the baby dies <br /> <br />V <br />Fat mothers may be cuddly, but die early <br />Size is irrelevant either way, in the matter <br /> <br />VI <br />A perfect mother accepts the child she has borne <br />Whether it’s nice or one of the other sort <br /> <br />VII <br />Don’t you see how men adore and worship their mothers? <br />Mothers and virgins, both are suited to pedestals <br /> <br />VIII <br />I knew a mother who raised her kids on sweets <br />It had no teeth, but Lordy, it could party! <br /> <br />IX <br />Mothers are not allowed to make mistakes <br />Nobody gives three cheers when they get it right <br /> <br />X <br />Once a mother ran off and became a crow <br />Once sectioned, they removed her beak and claws <br /> <br />XI <br />Mothers feed cod liver oil and orange juice <br />To lubricate the wishbones of their offspring <br /> <br />XII <br />A violin is playing. Somewhere, a mother is dying <br /> <br />XIII <br />A mother sat in a corner, making pies <br />Flour was snowing around her very gently <br />No one had used her name in 20 years<br /><br />sheena blackhall<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/thirteen-ways-of-looking-at-a-mother/
