To My Mother
TO MY MOTHER-2/26
my queen on a pedestal
i watched you move through the day
air bending around you
time spilling from your hands like water
i swallowed it whole
you told me not to shrink
not to apologize for my hunger
for the world for the stars for my own stubborn dreams
you taught me to gather everything i was
everything i had
even the parts that shook and clawed and burned
and throw it forward without fear
i carried your hands in mine
even when they were heavy with me
even when i was a storm you did not ask for
i carried your voice
that said go take it all
and make it yours
i was made of your courage
your quiet insistence
your patience stretched into hours that felt like forever
i rose because you taught me
falling wasn’t the end
the pedestal was never a prison
it was a starting line
my queen
i loved you in the full loud way
that filled every room every quiet corner
trembling when i remembered
even when i was fire and shadow
it was you who made me brave
