My Mother In Me

Why did you have to go
       Just when I was getting to know
        That I'm just like you
         Short tempered and all

Why didn't you tell me
       That I would see me
        In my daughter
         That she would look at me
          Like I looked at you

I saw you as a Queen
       As Supper-Woman
        Later Just a woman

Why did you leave me
       With unanswered questions
        Where you ever happy
          Did you follow your dreams
            Who did you want to be
               Instead of the mother of eight

Why didn't we talk
       'Bout rejections from jobs
           'Bout men who lie
              'Bout love ones with no ears
                 'Bout broken hearts
                     'Bout goals not reached

Can you see me now
        Can you her me now

As I passed by the mirror
        I stopped, looked
           Right into her eyes
                She has seen much
                     In that I had become
                       
My mother in me.

January 24, 2003
By Cynthia B. Williams