The Backporch Review 2022

My Mother
By Vaida Yesse, 12
My mother loves me unconditionally.
She looks into my eyes, hoping
To still find that little girl she once had
But that little girl grew up too fast.
She had no choice but to
From a young age, she was like a phoenix.
Fire for a soul, beams of light shining through her skin
Eventually the fire burned out, all was lost.
The fire burned bright until it burned away to smoldering cinders
She became dull
Because
She never had a stable household.
Or because she never truly loved herself
Or maybe it was because the person who loved her the most
Lost himself.
She was stuck in evil
The cinders turned to dull ashes
My mother still loves me unconditionally
Even as I am like ashes
She tried to reignite the fire that was once there
I am still dull.
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