"This Single Mother's Day"

by Fran Hopkins | More from this Blogger

09 Feb 2006 10:42 AM

Last night I came across a wonderful poem called "This Single Mother's Day." Its author is Michelle Ailene True, who gave me her permission to post the poem here.

Michelle is the author of several books of poetry, including "True Reflections," "True Emotions" and "True Identities." "This Single Mother's Day" will appear in a fourth volume, "True Perspectives," to be published in late 2006.

I asked Michelle to describe her books for us.

"Each of my books is a collection of poems on various subjects," she explained. "Single parenting, of course, is a favorite subject, as is love, family, friendship, life, and other general subjects that everyone can relate to."

What I really like about "This Single Mother's Day" is its simplicity. This is no flowery poem; instead, it's real. Michelle uses plain, everyday language to describe what it's really like to be a single Mom. The best part is that she also manages to capture what makes it all worthwhile!

See if you agree.

*****

This Single Mother's Day by Michelle Ailene True

(Posted here with the written permission of the author.)

Here is a single mother's song My work is hard, my days are long By paycheck time it's often spent Child support barely makes a dent

I'm out of bed before the dawn and in the shower with a yawn I put on water to boil for tea I also have the cat to feed

I put on make up, dry my hair, cover up dark circles with great care. I check the weather and get dressed hoping the clothes will not get messed...

while I quickly grab some food and then go wake my little dude. I clean his glasses, grab his clothes and feed him breakfast; how he grows!

He watches tv while he eats, I make his lunch - sandwich, juice and treats. Out on the balcony, I fill the bird feeder it's a big one, made of cedar.

The birds come by all day to eat entertaining our cat with their feats. By 7:00 we're down in the car heading to daycare which, at school, isn't far.

By 8 I'm at work, spend all day on the phone (believe me, that's another whole poem!) At 6, I carpool from Hebrew school there's homework to do - after dinner's the rule.

We may have to do a grocery run or some other errand, but nothing fun. Sometimes there's laundry, there's always some cleaning My son "sometimes" helps, if you get my meaning.

My son's in his room playing video games The quiet living room is mine to claim. By 8, all I want is to relax so it's time for my nightly long, hot bath.

Finally it's time to get ready for bed I'm so exhausted, not much to be said. We brush our teeth and he reads to me, Captain Underpants, or something else quite silly.

The lights go off and the blankets spread, say good night to each other; we're tucked into bed. Some days it's not over, sometimes it seems I relive my whole day in my frantic dreams.

There's never enough time to do it all and there are times I've dropped the ball. No matter how hard my life may be, I have my son, and he has me.

Learn more about Fran Hopkins

Fran Hopkins is a Baby Boomer who just turned 50 and is trying to adjust! Prematurely widowed at age 40, Fran is a single parent to her 16-year-old son.

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