The Mother Wound

Sam Szekely

Where I live
Goodwill drips from the tongues of mothers
Mother tongues long since forgotten
Choking on the honesty of placating lies
Batting tears with promises
That this dark blanket is kind
That the ache is worth devouring the night sky

There’s nothing like the type of lost you feel when you’re 13
Nursing your hurt with promises
That you will not become so bitter
That you will not abandon yourself for parenthood.

But then you will turn 21
And see your mum young and shining
Starlight oozing from her mouth
No longer a black hole
The ever-consuming void,
She is a lantern.

I have become travel sick
But never world-weary
Home is wherever I am not.
I swear I will never catch my breath
If I keep running from places I love

I will anchor myself to the bed
With my right hand, I will swear to never get up
With my left, I will burst through doorways
Until the fitful dreams subside and I
Wake up to find that my mother
(and I)
Are human.

applpi

Biography: i like to draw and make art

Artist Statement: My interpretation of the roots prompt focused on family roots, specifically the mother-daughter relationship. To reflect the roots concept, I incorporated a nature element, specifically flowers. I aimed for this artwork to reflect a toxic and complicated mother-daughter relationship, drawing inspiration from the dynamic between Mother Gothel and Rapunzel. The flowers symbolize the child’s youth, which the mother takes away, almost as if trying to reclaim her own lost youth. I hope that makes sense i’m an engineering major, not an English one.

Sam Szekely

Biography: Sam is a third-year pre-law student majoring in political science and creative writing. When he isn’t scrawling in notebooks you can find him reading, playing guitar, doing textile arts, desperately trying to keep his plants alive, and offering unprompted fun facts about the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Artist Statement: I wrote this poem as a way of processing the complex emotions that come with becoming an adult and the sudden profound realization that your parents are just people. I think that, like roots, you grow from that which came before you by the means of that which you are offered. Family legacies must be examined if we want to grow.