Tonight's Poet Corner: Mother's Land

Mother's Land
by Belinda Roddie

It was warm and ripe and lively,
without a kitchen to be seen. She wore
silk and scarves and leather,
all together, an obscene rebuke
of societal expectations. What a world!
It was right. It was good. There were
chances to be different, to be new.

I held my mother's hand through twilight,
told her that this place was hers,
and if she ever needed to be by herself, I'd
dig underground to please her. She didn't
mind my gloomy presence. She said it
beautifully countered the sun. She wore
silk and scarves and leather, becoming
her true form before she died.