A Single Mother’s Work

Always the first one to arrive,
drop her child off, say goodbye
and run to catch the bus,
but we got by.

Messages with a certain tone,
the school has just been on the phone,
you forgot her lunch,
you weren’t the only one.

A struggle to get back on time,
bags of shopping snag your tights,
always last to pick her up,
another late night.

Tucked up safely in her bed,
fair curls falling round her head,
just one more story, Mum,
and you always read.

Picking up her clothes and toys,
ears pricked for the slightest noise,
washing-up waited in the sink –
and an empty bed.

Kim M. Russell, 2017

Kim and Ellen at Butt Bridge Dublin 1987

My response to Imaginary Garden with Real Toads Over // Under // Through

Today’s challenge is all about challenges. Isadora says that we’ve all got a lot of borders to hop, a lot of walls to climb, a lot of checkpoints to dodge and asks us to write a poem detailing how we get by.

22 thoughts on “A Single Mother’s Work”

  7. Yes – getting by by doing what is put in front of you. Your poem conveys not only the struggle and the race against time, but also the joy.

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  11. I like where this prompt took you! Getting by so others can enjoy a warm bed and story. The is touching and well written. Thanks for posting!

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