Ungrateful children
for whom sacrifice and affection
flowed over like water
but left no impression.
Ungrateful children
to whom motherhood is
an inconvenient barrier
to strange freedoms.
Ungrateful children
in whom hopes were planted
that have withered:
stony ground.
Ungrateful children
who do not call
their mothers on
Mothers’ Day.
Ungrateful children.
Shawn L. Bird 
I never asked to be born
No one does.
This is true, sorry about that I was feeling a bit bitter yesterday
Many people don’t ask to be pregnant either, and so we all just have to do the best we can with what we’re given! lol Glad you’re feeling less bitter today. 😉
Thanks, I cannot imagine anything other than we and poo and sick coming from my body. I would go for plenty of pain killers
lol
:0)
Your poem expresses what I have sometimes felt. I’m praying some of the planted hopes are dormant and will spring into growth when the stones are removed.
I find the typical mother’s day fare unrealistic saccharin.
Gritty with plenty of rough edges. Tough love in a different format. The thorns in the roses but certainly what many neglected or disenchanted mothers are thinking on Mother’s Day and probably every day. Can also be seen as a bitter mother by a child forced to live up to unreachable expectations.
Indeed
This seems to come from an angry place. I hope that in the past couple days you’ve been able to find your way out of that place.
Writing in persona means considering a different angle. One can write from the persona of a 12 year old boy, or a 90 year old woman, an adored person or an abused one. Part of the brilliance of being a poet is playing with words and creating worlds, whether they belong to you or not.
So the question must be asked, What can mothers do to be less sacrificing and more responsibility-giving? Ungrateful children haven’t worked hard enough yet. 🙂
I love your writing, by the way!
Wellll… I gave my kids jobs, like doing their own laundry and making their own lunches from the time they were in grade 2 or so. That works well, so long as both parents are on board, and help by gentle reminders, but not by doing. Allowing natural consequences should teach them, e.g. if they’re so slow in the morning that they miss the school bus, and have to wait 2 hours for the city bus, for example (we’re in a small city with service on 2 hours cycles with little buses), or that they’ll fail a class if they don’t do their homework. Failure is a great teacher.
Yeah, parenthood can be tough, and thankless for sure (until they are in their 40s…then they are full of gratitude–and a good dose of compassion!). A friend of mine said it best: “I love being a mom, but I hate being a parent.”
Ha! A good line.