By LaKrista Vantrece
My Mother always told me
people will not always be kind.
She said some would take advantage of me
without a second thought.
My mother always told me
fights with siblings were never as serious as they seemed.
She said I’d donate a kidney
if they ever needed one.
My mother always told me
friendships will come and go
she said friends would not always be
there when I needed them
What my mother should have told me
is people are often cruel
they would lead me to believe
I was worth less
She should have told me
that after being used
I’d want to crawl out of my skin
because no amount of water
could wash away the feelings of those hands
My mother should have told me
seeing the tubes, wires, and pumps force
life into his limp body
would make me want to rip out
my still-beating heart
to avoid the inevitable questions concerning
pulling plugs and giving up
She should have told me
that none of my friends would even call
leaving me to face death alone
with the weight of the world pressing down
upon my bruised and battered shoulders
I wish my mother had told me
the feelings of isolation and despair
would leave me stranded
on an island where the senses
dull until I questioned the truth
of every happy memory
If my mother had told me these things
I might have listened to her
when she told me
take nothing for granted.
My mother always told me
One day I would understand unconditional love.
She said it would have to wait until I had kids of my own
What my mother did not realize
was that I already knew unconditional love.
I felt it when she let me cry in her bed at 6 am
because I was hurt and angry.
I felt it in the hospital waiting room
When my parents held back tears for my sake
although they’d been too distraught to remember to put on socks
I felt unconditional love
every time my mother sacrificed her happiness
to ensure my own.
My Mother always told me about love
but what she should have said is
“this is love”
