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Mothers of the Milky Way, Part II Poems, Stories, & Creative Nonfiction
This collection is dedicated to our mothers and to the mothers in all of us.
Mothers of song and mothers of trees, mothers of thunder and mothers of thieves. In Mothers of the Milky Way, Part II, we pay homage to the complex relationships we have with our mothers through an intimate collection of writing. Here we offer a second glimpse into the complexities of mother love, the nurturing mothers and the mother of many shadows—those who disappoint, neglect, and abandon, who cause us pain and even hate. The stories and poems are filled with delight and with sorrow. They capture mothers of all ages, and women about to become mothers. The words evoke simple and peaceful moments, as well as the most startling and powerful. Here we celebrate and mourn.
I recently read an anonymous quote on this theme that touched me. It evokes the sense memories that a good-enough mother can offer—though as many of these contributions suggest, some mothers fall very short. “Your mother is always with you. She is the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street. She is the smell of certain foods you remember, the fragrance of life itself. She is the cool hand on your brow when you’re not feeling well. She’s your breath in the air on a cold winter’s day. Your mother lives inside your laughter. She’s the place you came from, your first home. She is your first love, your first friend, even your first enemy. But nothing on earth can separate you … not time, not space, not even death.”
As with past Creative Literary sections, many of the contributors are therapists. They often tell me how much they value having an outlet for their creative expression, a place for some of their innermost thoughts and feelings, where their creative and analytic minds can be one. There was an outpouring of personal material, and our Call clearly touched a creative nerve.
In both issues of Mothers of the Milky Way, some of the offerings, told