Heart of the Mother
the world is hungry for mothering;
for the infinite mother that resides in each of us;
a love that cuts through the unessential
and goes straight to the crux of the matter
without bypassing the heart…
a love that is so anchored and encompassing,
it can hold the most injured of souls,
without turning away or attempting to fix…
a love that knows no boundaries
between my children and your children…
a love whose intelligence is infinite
and readily accessible in addressing
equality, sustainability and peace…
a love that serves as a perpetual warm lap
in which to rest, where shadow and light are seen
through an unconditional lens…
a love that speaks truth to power,
albeit sometimes on shaky legs…
a love that fiercely protects and guides,
with unwavering clarity and commitment…
a love that can see the collective need
and respond individually in kind…
we will stumble
and we will fall,
we will fall short
a thousand times,
but we will resume
conceiving
gestating
birthing
nurturing
letting go
self-mothering
surrogate mothering
mothering the mother;
who has lost her way
never learned how
who lost a child
longs for a child,
knowing there is no "other"...
mothering souls;
who have lost their mother
who are estranged from their mother
whose mother inflicted harm…
nurturing intimacy
creating safe space…
every day
we are birthing galaxies
of new form;
through our
thoughts
creativity
space-holding
longing
interconnectedness
service
parenting
healing
compassion
listening
leadership
mistake making
fierce truth telling;
clear boundaries
vulnerability
forgiveness
inclusion
patience
enduring love…
we are all mothers;
branches from
the same magnificent
life-giving tree…
I bow
to all the ways in which
the necessary medicine of mothering
is made manifest...
originally written 2018
honoring my son’s birth tree this morning. we planted a beautiful pink crabapple tree as a sapling, over his buried placenta ~ 24 and a half years ago…
sacred thread words & image © heather rhodes at studio petronella
model: ofelia