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First Story

England's leading creative writing charity for young people

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‘Your Mother’
by Aarti Sisodiya

Judgemeadow Community College, East Midlands, 2018

Your mother lived with a kitchen apron
Every stain resembled a growing pain
She tightened her hair into a doughnut bun
Her uncreased dress hid the shadow of emptiness under her eyes
She never left the house, slaving away in the kitchen
Clean and cook and wash and dust
She only thought what she was expected to
Only dreamed what was within her limit
Only learnt what she needed to
Your mother couldn’t achieve what your father could

A woman
A woman with an eye for change
Under all the grief, there was no self-pity
Determination and courage clutched tightly in her hands
You didn’t understand this, lying to yourself
in a misbelieving world of joy
until
your mother firmly told you
your place in this world is at home

But
what about the first woman to uncover the mysteries of the moon
or venture into unknown lands
or stand up for her beliefs
or fight for human rights
or become renowned
a woman is a powerful mind
of vast knowledge, with a vision too broad for others to possibly
begin to comprehend

your mother sees that now
her success no easy feat
now she has that apron neatly tucked away
to remind her of the battle she won

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