Coming Home to You, Mother

You gave me my first home

as you carried me with you,

for nine long months

safe, inside your sacred womb.

You gave me my second home

as you cradled and nourished me

with your breath 

and your warm bosom.

You gave me my third home

as you made space for me

to take my first unsure steps

into an unknown world.

You gave me my fourth home

when you held and rocked me

to feel  safe enough to sleep

when I had lost my way to myself.

You gave me my fifth home

when you showed me the way

to love something beyond myself

so that I could get back to loving myself.

You gave me my sixth home

when you gifted me both -

roots to hold onto, and wings

to fly to a nest of my own making.

You gave me my seventh home

when I had my baby

and you held him in your arms,

the way you had held me.

You gave me my eighth home

when you stayed with me,

held my hand, and wiped my tears,

to give me strength, when I was ill.

You gave me my ninth home

when I gave my baby

the space to grow and be himself -

what life gave to me, when I was in you.

You gave me my eternal home – myself,

so I could open it out to the world,

while I find my way back,

to come home to myself

and to you, my dear Mother.