Thank you for the long hours
you worked as a school secretary
to fill my belly with spicy red beans,
corn bread and sauced barbecue steaks.
Thank you for teaching me to grow
tomatoes, squash and okra
in the family garden.
I’m sorry that all you provided
couldn’t nourish the part of me
that still craves giant bowls of phở,
self-constructed rolls of gỏi cuốn
and the sweet taste of chè.
I’m sorry that the hours
you spent sweating
over a stove left me hungry
right after I’d left the table.
Thank you for the nights
you cradled me in arms
that were themselves empty
of another’s companionship.
I’m sorry that after you’d spent
hours rocking me to sleep,
I still longed for
and dreamt of Má.
Thank you for everything
that I never thanked you for
when I was a child.
I’m sorry for no longer
feeling grateful as I did
when I was a child.
Not particularly meant to be good. Just needed to get it out of my system if you know what I mean.
Sume, this is beautiful and definatly better than good. It’s perfect and gently gets the point across.. Your prose speaks very naturally and gets the feelings across wonderfully, even if it is sad.
Wow, Sume that was powerful. Forget about perfect line breaks and careful word choices. Poetry is supposed to speak to people’s hearts and minds of the reader, not just please crotchety old elitist poets. It’s beautiful, mashaAllah.
I love it, Sume, and I’m glad you got it out of your system so beautifully.
The best poems, to me, are the ones that flow as if the words are speaking themselves. This one makes me think of autumn, for some reason.
This is amazing on so many levels. I feel so sad for the mother who is being apologized to because it taps into my own feelings of being a mother – praying and hoping that my child will always love me and appreciate me. And then I feel so sad for the daughter because there’s so much pain there too. Mash’Allah sis, you really are a talented sister and so easily tap into your emotional resevoir. Get more out of your system more often and you’ll soon have a book!
A really lovely poem that made me teary for my own long departed mother, as I just commented also on This Here Garden. Bless you!
Ya Haqq!
Thanks ya’ll! I wasn’t sure if my intent was coming across well.
Yeah Jaye, gentle was what I was aiming for with this one. I wasn’t sure how well it came across since I was feeling the opposite when I wrote it. :S
UmmAli, LOL @ crotchety old elitist poets. Someone has spent some time on the a certain poetry board that I will not name.
Ji-in, did you by any chance spend some time in the family garden? Except for the tomatoes and steak, the food I mention are late summer-early fall veggies. At least they were where I grew up.
Wayfarer, yeah the feelings wrapped into this are pretty complex but I tried to keep it simple.
You’re a wonderful mom, a great person and writer and omg, a fantastic cook. You’re daughter will have much to appreciate. 
Aww Irving, thanks for reading and commenting. *running over to This Here Garden
Wow. Tears. Your intent came across just fine. It’s beautiful.
aw, you’re too sweet sis.
Thanks.