A Mother's Heirloom

A little girl grows amongst the Mothers.

The one of blood and others of choice.

She watches, learns and discovers

That which it takes to love another.

With age comes added pressures,

In station, appearance and worth.

Outlandish contradictions of value

angle to diminish a simple life.

To be unique a flaw, to love a weakness

To be kind naivety, to follow a virtue.

A wandering train without direction,

Each car the same, ever following.

These are the pressures cast upon,

a growing girl in an unfriendly world.

It does pass for those who persevere,

leaving behind wisdom's understanding,

A first test many a Mother endures,

as the price of rejecting uniformity.

Her arms grow wide, a heart wider still,

Her value on virtue, love, acceptance.

She stands a mother among the daughters

Some of blood and others of choice

They see not the scars and bruises,

That created the woman before them.

They relate not to her journey past,

And must too the gauntlet pass.

A familial story as old as time,

Of a girl so precious, so pure,

Caught in throws of a raging war,

While Mother's pray on bended knee.

Nicholas Campos - April 2024