A Mother’s Moment of Clarity

Friday, May 04, 2012

by Beata Tsosie-Peña 

My Daughters! Time has stopped for a moment.
Its shout of routine and its call to drudgery
is silenced momentarily by a mother’s common sense.
This time is precious.
Come outside with me, I have so much to show you
while the sun is still shining in the sky of my thoughts.
I may only be here for a moment,
A blink of an eye,
A child can’t stand it that we all have to die and on this day I find…neither can I.
If only time could stop.
Go back to the way it used to flow in a cycle of seasons holding hands with eternity.
Before time came in a Pandora’s Box alongside the conquering plague of destruction,
A time ruled by greed that ticks away to this day.
A bomb set to speed up the demise of memory,
Going against the tides that connect us to the moon.
My daughters! Remember that the secret of eternity
Is being in the moment, connected to everything real while
breathing the dreams of the past and the future.
Grandmothers! Can you give me a sign of the times that leaves out the word?
I have two children that demand, and deserve, to live life by its fullest everyday.
It’s a struggle against the clock and myself to honor their enthusiasm for play.
So come outside girls, see this Sun spider’s patience,
How it sits in a web of its own making, on her belly is a black sun,
her body is orange and yellow flame.
We weave our own destinies; create our own perceptions of beauty
that time on a wall can never touch.
Our meaningful day that we shared in love and joy is peace to my mind because
deep down is a truth that our love will stay with me through endless existence,
endless experience…a sweet breath of cycles and sunsets enduring beneath the illusion
that we are all swept along a current with no control.
So come outside my girls, explore this day with me,
Our time is sacred and I’m taking it back.
It belongs to forever where you must learn to play.
Outside of time, on a trail of stars bright as your love for living.
An inner fire of heart and spirit setting ablaze the black sun etched on our bellies.
As we patiently weave our time together,
Secure in the knowledge,
Of its place in forever.

Beata Tsosie-Peña is from Santa Clara Pueblo and El Rito, NM. She works for Tewa Women United's Environmental Health and Justice program. She is a poet, musician, wife and mother of two, and is passionate about community gardens. She is certified in Permaculture Design, Infant Massage, Early Childhood and Elementary Education.

This blog is part of Strong Families Mama’s Day Our Way blog series. Strong Families is a national initiative led by Forward Together. Our goal is to change the way people think, act and talk about families.