Thank you for standing by me
watching what I’ve gone through.
I forget sometimes through teary eyes
that you’ve had to go through it too.
The labor and the birth
while that pain was mine.
Your hand was never far away
Your eyes never so wide.
My fear of being a new mother.
The onset of baby blues.
All the while you stayed strong for me
while you were fearful too.
The early days of breastfeeding.
The trials and the tears.
You were always helping with the latch
while I was screaming in your ear.
See sometimes I forget,
as hard as it was on me
You had to watch me in this pain
As you sat there helplessly.
Trying to remember things from antenatal
Taking turns getting up in the night
Feeling the fog of the fourth trimester
In your own given right.
The daily battles I have at home
Which you feel as you walk in the door.
But always with a smile and open arms
Taking the weight off me once more.
You’ve seen me raw and at my limit.
You’ve seen me vulnerable and small.
All the while you’ve remained my rock
And loved me through it all.
You don’t sit on the sidelines
Instead you sit by my side
While we navigate this together
On this beautiful but bumpy ride.
Even though you say sometimes
You don’t know what you can do.
You’ve done it without even knowing
for being their father and just being you.
~
Poem available for print here
Published in poetry book 'From One Mom to a Mother'