The Language of Mothers and Babies

Since the Pixie arrived, I am often filled with wonder at the words people use to craft a poem to express the sensation of motherhood. Language seemed shaped anew as words form unformed as it were in the babies mouth. I am often startled too, by the language of some mothers toward each other - Nicole Kidman calling the birth mother of her child a 'gestational carrier' made me rage - it sounded like a new term like 'an unlawful combatant' to erase a role. Don't get me started on surrogacy, I don't want to share my opinions, but surely Nicole who is a mother herself, can accept that her baby has another mother too.

You used to lean

on that cot rail

and wait

with the vigour of a flame

to leap into my arms

two feet tall and two years old

a sagging nappy

archless feet soft as cats’  tongues

and trodden underneath

a thick and clammy waterproof

warm from sleep

the sheet ruched at the end

toys heaped and confused

neglected as the dead

a duck stuck in the corner

I could see the basket of your ribs

your hands were opened

and all your bones and life

leapt up to mine.

Kate Llewellyn