April 8th poem: [If not] For my Mother

[If not] For My Mother

If it weren’t for my mother
Where and what would I be
Who would have taught me
How to stand strong fight back
How to think freely.

What kind of wimp would I be
Without her example
Without her ferocious story
She walked across a country
For my sisters and me

What kind of citizen
What kind of activist would I be
If she hadn’t taught me
To challenge everyone
To question everything?

I wouldn’t be
Painting paintings
Writing poetry/ would not love science
Wouldn’t have all these degrees
Wouldn’t eat organic
Recycle
Drive an old (gas-saving) car
Rock thrift sore fashion
Wouldn’t recognize animals
As people
Trees as family
Wouldn’t notice beauty
In everything

If not for my mother
It scares me to think
How I might have turned out
Who I would have become
If not for my mother.