for Mom
When the world felt too big
and I felt too small for it,
you were there—
arms open,
voice calm,
heart loud enough to quiet
every storm inside me.
You were my constant,
the steady breath in my chaos,
the one thing I could count on
even when nothing else made sense.
We’d walk and talk
down quiet streets,
just you and me
and a million unspoken things
you somehow understood
without needing to ask.
Those walks weren’t just steps;
they were a lifeline.
In every crack in the sidewalk
and every soft breeze that brushed by,
you gave me the courage
to be who I was,
even when I didn’t know who that was.
Your presence filled the empty spaces
between my fears,
like sunlight spilling through the cracks in a dark room.
You weren’t perfect.
You were late more times than I could count—
but you always came.
You always showed up.
Even when the world pulled you a thousand ways,
you chose me.
It wasn’t about the clock or the rules,
it was about making sure I knew
you would never leave me behind,
no matter how far apart life tried to pull us.
And when I felt like a ghost
in my own skin,
like an alien in a world that didn’t want me—
you looked at me like I belonged.
Like I was already enough.
You saw the me that I couldn’t see,
the me who needed love but couldn’t ask for it,
the me who feared being unseen,
and you made sure I knew I was never invisible to you.
You held me up when I was sinking,
even when I couldn’t find the words
to ask for your help.
Your voice still echoes
in the dark corners of my mind,
chasing out the doubt,
the fear,
the lies I tell myself.
When I catch myself questioning my worth,
I hear you—
gentle, but fierce,
like a whisper that shakes the ground.
“You’re okay, baby.”
“You’re stronger than you think.”
“You’ve got this.”
And maybe I do—
because I had you.
Because you gave me a foundation
so solid,
I didn’t even know I was standing on it.
You taught me how to rise,
how to face what scared me,
how to be proud of the person I was becoming.
Every moment you showed up for me
became a part of who I am now,
whether it was a hug, a laugh,
or the comfort of knowing
I was never truly alone.
I carry you with me,
always.
In the way I love,
in the way I fight for my own happiness,
in the way I show up for my sons.
Because of you,
I know what it means to show up,
even when it’s hard,
even when the world tells me to walk away.
You gave me more than life—
you gave me the strength to live it.
©manyfaces
M