|
Read a mother's poem to her son
Letter to My Son
You look in the mirror and what do you see?
You notice the differences between you and me
You once asked when you were very small
Mommy, why are you yellow and not brown at all?
Words caught in my throat.
Not wanting to fail you,
I found it hard answering a question so tall.
Fate sent you to me, in answer to God's call.
I knew when I saw I saw your sweet baby face
Your tiny little fingers, your sweet baby smell,
That I could not resist you,
My heart started to swell.
The moment you arrived,
You captured a place.
In our family
In our hearts
In our little part of the whole human race.
I couldn't help but love you,
You were my little boy.
I fed you and rocked you
And helped you feel joy.
Now that you're older, my smart, curious boy,
You notice so many things.
You ask so many questions.
You challenge my skills.
Sometimes you're so smart, it gives me a chill.
"What color is God?
Is God brown?
Is God yellow?
Is God Father or Mother?"
You're my deep little fellow.
A thought so profound
Can we even resolve?
We decided together
God is all the above.
God is every color in the universe
Our God isn't limited to color or gender.
God is bigger than that,
An "incomprehender."
As you grow older, I struggle to know what's right.
I lay awake often, deep into the night.
Like moms the world over,
I dream of a good life for you
And desperately do I want to provide you the tools
To grow up with pride in your culture and race,
To look in the mirror and see in your face
The beauty,
The intelligence,
The good I see there.
A boy who can be at ease everywhere.
I hope when you grow up you say to yourself,
"I like who I am.
I 'm good, I'm the best.
I see all of the different facets of me
I know I am free to be the best I can be.
My life experiences helped me develop strength.
And this will help me all through my life's length."
I feel great pride when I think of my race
And, also, whenever I think of my place
In my family and church
My school and neighborhood, too
I feel I belong.
I feel happy here, too.
I have all of the tools
I need for success
My family life has been more
- not less.
Love,
Your mother
~A.B. (name withheld at author's request)
| 
