mamas' day

mother taught her

hard-lipped city grit

to keep dangerous men away;

how to start any meal by

pressing open garlic with the

flat belly of a knife,

and setting it

singing with onions

in a sea of olive oil;

how to drive stick shift,

escape any situation

via tractor or truck;

how to read the lines,

or between them, and

the kindergarten nun

had to be convinced to

believe her own eyes,

that Charlotte’s Web

could be read at age five;

how to be a powerhouse

in a gym or with a

lawnmower, changing

oil or a tire;

how to talk about sex

without euphemisms;

how to study beyond

normal endurance,

to where melanin and

vaginas no longer had

to be hidden, since

numbers speak

for themselves;

never once called it

feminism.

That's an original for my mommy. I'm just one day away from the official end of my first year of med school, and one important thing I've gotten out of this journey so far is admiration for my parents, especially my mom, who gave birth to me the summer after her second year of med school. After graduating, she went on to teach my sister, brother, and me all of the above and more, as well as complete her training in pathology. I can't imagine the strength and discipline it must have taken; I've hard a hard enough time getting through one year with no one to take care of but myself. So if she could do it, I can do it. Thanks, Mommy!

Wanted to share some others' works recognizing other mothers as well. Here's a video honoring young mothers, who are too often vilified in popular media as problematic, a drain on taxpayer dollars, irresponsible, or incapable of being good moms. But I think this video does a great job paying tribute to some of the positive stories of young motherhood that fall through the cracks - moms who are continuing their education, serving as role models, rising to the challenge of motherhood, and making a difference in their communities.



And lastly, check out this new song from Dead Prez. I love it because, like much of what Dead Prez does, it speaks to what we don't hear and see in mainstream media. I have to thank my parents - mom as well as dad - for helping me to see through "this Hollywood world so pretentious" to the truth of natural beauty and inner strength. What I got in these GENES is from my mama and my daddy. Check it out and then pass it on to the naturally beautiful women and mothers in your life:



(Shout-outs to Feministing and Colorlines, where I first found the video tribute and Dead Prez song, respectively.)