Today is my wedding anniversary. Seven years ago, I walked down the aisle with a veil on my head and a baby in my body. Ours was not a shotgun wedding, we were engaged before I got pregnant, just a miscalculation on how long it would take for to have children. So as I celebrate becoming a wife today, I also celebrate my journey into motherhood, because for me they happened only four months apart.

I chose two poems from the Mothering Heights Summer Poetry Festival to not only celebrate my own holiday but to also honor our country’s mothers and their hard work. The first poem was written by local resident Bree Mitchell and captures the way I often feel fractured by motherhood. The second poem is from MotheringHeights.net reader and contributor Meenu Gupta and expresses the rough and shiny sides of being a mom. Enjoy!

I am More, I am less, I am Me
by Bree Mitchell
 
I once was a fraction, now I am whole
I am her mother this is my role,
An independent spirit, completely her own
On this journey through life, free to roam
My teacher, my student
Learning every day
Does she feel my words; does she hear what I say?
She is my joy, my frustration, all wrapped in one
My shining star, glowing moon, she’s the warmth of my sun
Am I the mother I thought I would be?
I am more, I am less, I am me.
Providing her with tools, allowing her to grow
The crossing of a mother learning to let go
Providing a love she’ll always know
Am I the mother I thought I would be?
I am more, I am less, I am me.

Bree is a wife (19 years), a mother (one child), and owns Bree Mitchell Personal Concierge Service. She spends her time in Laguna Beach and New York.

 
Mother's Love
by Meenu Gupta
 
Mother, your love is like a diamond;
Precious, true, sparkling and rare.
It never speaks for itself.
But this silence holds within
the innumerable struggling years,
when you worked up a sweat.
In darkness,under high pressure,
forming our bonds, strong and lasting.
Mother, your love is like a diamond.
Nature's gift, it is forever.

Meenu Gupta lives in California with her two year old son and husband.

Share your thoughts on these poems and others in the comment section of The Summer Poetry Festival. Submit a recent and original poem to the Summer Poetry Festival by sending to submissions@motheringheights.net.