A single mom and her kids

SOLO MAMÁ, THREE CABRIOLES*

The stalwart single mom will stay

Just, as around her the kids swirl

In a raucous dance that makes her sway.

Just as around her, the kids swirl

Over table, over floor, in furious play –

Twisting, dodging, dipping in a whirl.

The stalwart single mom will stay

Just as – around her – the kids swirl.

For Kena, Luciano, Nicole and Alan

*wild little goats

2007

"Solo Mamá, Three Cabrioles" is a triolet, a poem in which one line is repeated three times and one line is repeated twice.  The rhyme is abababab.  This was written for Kena and her children, whom I had the pleasure of meeting at Kena's initiation into the honor society. 

Kena immigrated from Chile years before I met her when she came into the lab for help with her English.  She didn't need a lot of help, just a bit of polishing because she was very intelligent and had taught herself English up to that point.  She was a single mom with three rowdy children that she loved immensely.  She's a strong person with her own concepts about what is good for her and the children.  I came to admire her eccentricities because behind them was a solid human being.

What makes people interesting is the little things that make them different from everyone else.  I know that raising three energetic children by oneself isn't easy.  One of the ironies of feminist liberation is that so many women wound up raising children by themselves.

My sister is one of those women, and her son turned out to be a productive, compassionate human being.  My hat is raised for all the single parents out there.  I wish you good luck and fortitude.

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