Motherhood--By Jennifer Criss--United States

Motherhood

Feel free to get a new glass

for every drink of water and leave it

half full in the room you left

with the lights on

By all means, leave your dirty socks

in the middle of the floor

and your shoes in the kitchen

where the dishes remain untouched

I’d be happy to wash those jeans

six times when you’ve only worn them once

because you leave them on the floor

to be wrinkled and stomped upon

Please, let me cook four different meals

because no one can agree

on the same thing

then leave it untouched on your plate

It’s no trouble, being your mother

day in and day out, morning to night

I want to kiss that face and then scream

into a pillow at the top of my lungs.

Jennifer Criss graduated from Ball State University with a minor in Creative Writing, a lifelong passion.  She is currently collaborating on an anthology for older adults and helps lead a writing support group. Jennifer writes mostly short stories but has discovered a love for writing poetry.  Her poetry has been published in Poebita Magazine. She now works at Ball State, is a busy mother of two girls and her pen keeps moving. She is an editorial assistant with Indiana Voice Journal.