My Body is a Vessel

No longer can I wear it any style I choose

You see, my hair it seems to weaken with every handful I lose

My eyes they’re red, puffy and sore, darker than they’ve ever been before

The skin on my face grows clustered with every unwelcome spot

A mix of stress and tears I guess or the wash that I forgot

My lips they are dry, chapped and a little sore

My teeth just aren’t as white anymore

My shoulders they ache from burdens carried each day

And the unspoken ailments that I just brush away

These arms of mine they’re safe and strong from hours of holding you

But my hands have seen much better days due to all I put them through

My fingers best used for stroking your face and playing with your hair

Nails once filed, shaped and painted but now I just don’t care

These boobs of mine how they’ve become amazing and extremely complex

No longer do I only call upon them merely just for sex

This tummy is now admittedly a little on the squishy side

Stretch marks and that annoying fold, hips that seem so strange and wide

My lady parts just aren’t the same as they were before you came

One of the many reasons that as once I was bold, I’m now rather tame

My legs sometimes cramp for no reason at all,

My feet have grown careless, how I trip and I fall

But I’ve grown to love these imperfections both inside and out too

Because my body is a vessel in which I carried you

There’s so much you don’t know before you go to enrol

Into this thing, we call Motherhood and how it does take its toll

I signed my name on the line with my blood sweat and tears

And I ran head-on into my worries and fears

See how strong I’ve become all because of you

Each day finding more strength to make it through

The good, the bad, all these times pass so quick

Listen close, you can almost hear the faint tick tick tick

No doubt more tired I will grow in the many years to come, I’m sure

As the list of problems builds so does my heart with love so pure

My child you are worth it all, every grey hair, worry and tear

Had you not come along my future would be nowhere near this clear.

Written by Ashleigh for her blog, The Mammy Diaries.

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