i am her first...she is my mother

i am her

first

seed to root within her womb
flutter as i made my room
within her uterus for me to bloom

i am her

first

fetus kicking against her skin
bump where flat stomach once had been
my exit is the moment when

she became my

mother

she is

billie's blues
and
nina's news
and
dinah's dues

she is

angela's revolution
and
assata's evolution
and
betty's constitution

she is

a crackhead's binge
and
a lush's best friend
and
a meth addict's twinge
and

she is
my mother

at my birth
i became
her porter

carrying her baggage
with hopes of a tip
but her luggage is equipt
with stainless steel grips
digging into my
marrow like
acerbic quips
sticking like mutton
to sardonic lips

she is my
example

of what high school
and two small kids can do
of what brown and woman
intertwined go through
of laughter found after death
like it was brand new
of a life twilight
shining in muted hue

i reflect her imperfections
i deflect her said directions
as a daughter is wont to do

but no matter what i always remember

i am

her first

and i love her not because

she is my mother

but because
she is my

light