Mother (a poem)

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I was born 
between the strength 
of her thighs
through water and blood,
the agony and ecstasy,
using muscles I do not own
experiencing contraction pain 
I will never feel.
Soaked
in pools of sweat 
and cries of determination 
demonstrating a resolve 
I could never imagine. 
She is fierce. 
She is wisdom. 
She is Mother Earth. 
Eve is her name. 
She is called
Hagar,
Rahab,
Elizabeth,
Mary,
Fatimah,
Akshara,
Sofia,
Li Na.
Her pain is her resistance. 
We are her progeny;
evidence of her strength.  
Our lives are called to echo 
the audacity of her hope 
for we are her children. 
We call her 
mother.
  — bshivers 

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