Love Poem: To all the black mothers
Layla  Riley-Hill  Avatar
Written by: Layla Riley-Hill

To all the black mothers

They say a mothers love Is everything You could say Infinite A key ingredient needed For the upbringing of her children

For a black mother Parenthood is a little different There are so many factors to consider Like racism and safety

They have to love their children extra harder Just to hide the noise of all the hatred They spend hours doing our hair just For the school system to say its 'distracting'

A constant battle between love and protection For us They cannot coexist as one It's either be soft And they become naive to the world Or be tough To teach them how to avoid racism It's a constant battle Switching from one to the other Trying to find the perfect balance

Trying to shield our innocence Whilst trying to instill resilience

Trying to make sure that they can always come home Whilst trying to make sure they come home

They may not be perfect But to me thats irrelevant Because when I see all they've been through and all that they've done They are stronger than anyone And their love for us more special Because its tough being a mother But almost impossible to be a black mother A job no one else could possibly do So to all the black moms I love you