mother by KatieAnn Nguyen
i’m proud to call you my mom
five years old and i’m crying on the first day of school,
tears sliding down, snot dripping down as
i sob in the way only a child could. and you stayed with
me until my eyes turned red and i could play with the styrofoam
blocks with the other kids. i waved you off then, but you didn’t
leave until the bell rung for school to begin. you always stayed
long after i kissed you goodbye, watching the back of my head
as i walked away, waiting until that moment when i turned around
one last time and waved to you, smiling toothy grins with childhood bliss.
i appreciate all you do
and you would tie my hair in braids and ponytails in elementary school;
my feet swinging from the kitchen seat as you worked the strands
into one another. i would stare at tile floor patterns, playing with objects
impatiently until you would finish. and as soon as you were done, i would
run off, to childhood fantasies and mischievous unknowings. and sometimes
we would talk long into the night. as everyone else slept soundly in the house,
our voices would meld together in tinkling laughter, and the two of us would
talk about nothing and everything all at once. we didn’t need to talk about
anything in particular, all we needed was to be in the company of one another.
i love you
waiting at garage doors when you come home and kisses goodnight,
and it’s princess and honey and sweetie and smiles. you were
the first person i ever loved, the first place i could run away to and
call home. in your arms, i felt safe; and you would wipe stray tears
from my face, whispering soft little things into my ears. and i know
that you will always be the one place i can run back to, no matter where
i am or where i go, you’ll always be there. and when i’m thirty with
a family of my own, i’ll always remember loving you.
KatieAnn Nguyen is a first generation Hmong-Vietnamese American who has been writing ever since she first held a pencil. To her, writing is about the freedom of expression, an extension of who she is. It is her hope that one day her work will be able to touch someone and help them through their own experiences.