Twenty-two Years: A Tribute to My Mom

Image taken from motherhood4real.com

21st of April Nineteen-ninety -
To the world it's just a normal day
but not for you.
Nor for me.
This day was surely very special
not only for you
but also for me
- and your new family.

"Push, push!" The doctor shouted
while you heaved heavily.
As hours came to pass,
your breathing became more fast.
After all that labor,
finally it was over.
But no, not yet,
for as they gave me to you,
as I slept in your arms,
you knew the labor had just begun.

Fast-forward twenty-two years
of early morning cooking,
of late night sleeping,
of shouts of "no!"
and sighs of exasperated "yes" -
The hardship hadn't ended.
In fact it had doubled,
no, actually quadrupled.

Taking care of four children
is no walk in the park.
But you juggled the chores,
and endured our loud snores.
Kept our clothes neat and clean
kept our tummies filled to the brim
all while enduring our 
ear-shattering screams.

Who knew two decades flew this fast?
As I grew up, you grew old
but showed no signs of it.
You're still there,
doing what you've been doing,
taking care of us.

I can't repay what you have done,
to you, I'll always be in debt.
So instead I say this:
In spite of all the things I've done
good or bad that have come
Please know this, and this is true
that until the day of my death,
I will always love you.

Thank you, mom!