Another
Texas writer today! Kelli Davis sends us a sleep-deprived struggle to
find the meaning of motherhood in this very identifiable poem. Pay
attention to the pacing. The questions and the edgy tone give the poem
a plaintive note. As it goes on, palpable fatigue is tinged with some
resentment, and the futility of the struggle is poignant. For all the
new mothers who might be reading this at 3:00 am, take heart, for these
days don’t last forever! For all the long-standing mothers still
reading this at 3:00 am, well, at a certain point we just get used to
sleep deprivation, don’t we?

Motherhood
By Kelli Davis

I am so tired, but I cannot sleep.
Why? Because there is no room.
And, by the time I get comfortable,
She will wake up.
And only she will rise
Until I follow.
So, what is the point in trying?
I am painfully aware of what will happen,
And what will not happen.
As it did in the past, it does in the present,
And it will do in the future.
My suffering is ignored,
or overlooked, or scoffed at,
or deserved.
It is my job,
my responsibility,
my punishment?