I was created in you.
It is also true.
That you were created for me.
I owned your voice.
Mother,
During those early, dearest days,
I did not dream that you had
A large life which included me.
For I had a life
Which was only you.
You were always
The heart of happiness to me.
During the years when you knew nothing
And I knew everything, I loved you still.
Condescendingly of course,
From my high perch
Of teenage wisdom.
I grew older and
Was stunned to find
How much knowledge you had gleaned,
And so quickly.
Mother I have learned enough now
To know I have learned nearly nothing.
On this day
When mothers are being honored,
Let me thank you
That my selfishness, ignorance, and mockery
Did not bring you to
Discard me like a broken doll
Which had lost its favor.
I thank you that
You still find something in me
To cherish, to admire, and to love.
I thank you, Mother.
I love you.
This beautiful poem expresses the deep and complex relationship between a mother and child. The child realizes that they were created within the mother and that the mother was, in a sense, created for them. In the early days, the child's world revolves around the mother, not realizing that the mother has a life of her own. As the child grows older and becomes more knowledgeable, they look down on the mother with teenage arrogance. However, as they mature further, they are shocked to discover how much the mother has learned and how quickly. On this special day of honoring mothers, the child thanks the mother for not giving up on them despite their flaws and for still finding things to cherish and love in them. It is a touching and heartfelt tribute to the unconditional love of a mother.