Have you heard motherhood referred a gaping wound?

The experience, mine, was fulfilling, satisfying
Like coming home
To the future I was destined for

Baby in my arms, mine all along
Even after all these years

The experience, mine, unexpected,
was change in friendships

I didn’t expect
the gaping hole
to become
Loss of friendships
Not from strife, but differences
We are at different stages

I miss you
These words are vulnerable
Do you miss me?
Am I too far away to remember?

”Let’s catch up,” I desire
But time away from my family hurts more
Can the two coexist?

Some friends with children feel free when they’re away
I would rather be in my nest, cuddling and cooking lunch

”Let’s have more babies!”
- But does it mean less friends?

The relationships, dynamic.
If they don’t shift with us, are they better shed?

Like fallen leaves
Which nourished and nurtured the tree,
Then served as mulch for sprouting seeds
At last become dirt. Soil.
Forgot.
Spread away for some other purpose.

The experience, mine, will become
what my family needs

This shift, natural
Maiden to Mother
I embrace the wheel turning
that I cannot see.

Motherhood, Hailey Ward-Maldonado, February 6, 2025
Posted September 5, 2025