Mama, you held on to me
You never let me go
Only a teen -
A choice many your age wouldn't
Have made.
But you held on to me
And I held on to you,
And on the ninth month
Your trouble was over;
You thought.
But 'twasn't, Mama.
No silver spoons to eat with.
No crystal stairs to tread on.
A dog that knew no day of its own.
No father to father me
But you knew you had to
Push on a little further -
Which you did.
No shoes for me,
Old skirts for you,
Patched shorts for me
Looked like combat fatigues.
A difficult path.
'Tis still.
But we won't give up -
That is what you said.
We won't give up.
We move on
And let the future surprise us
With change!
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem