Being A Single Mom

by Michelle Ailene True

Here is a single mother's song
My work is hard, my days are long
By paycheck time it’s often spent
Child support barely makes a dent

I'm out of bed before the dawn
and in the shower with a yawn
I put on water to boil for tea
I also have the cat to feed

I put on makeup, dry my hair,
cover up dark circles with great care.
I check the weather and get dressed
hoping the clothes will not get messed...

while I quickly grab some food
and then go wake my little dude.
I clean his glasses, grab his clothes
and feed him breakfast; how he grows!

He watches tv while he eats,
I make his lunch - sandwich, juice and treats.
Out on the balcony, I fill the bird feeder
it's a big one, made of cedar.

The birds come by all day to eat
entertaining our cat with their feats.
By 7:00 we're down in the car
heading to daycare which, at school, isn't far.

By 8 I'm at work, spend all day on the phone
(believe me, that's another whole poem!)
At 6, I carpool from Hebrew school
there's homework to do - after dinner's the rule.

We may have to do a grocery run
or some other errand, but nothing fun.
Sometimes there's laundry, there's always some cleaning
My son "sometimes" helps, if you get my meaning.

My son's in his room playing video games
The quiet living room is mine to claim.
By 8, all I want is to relax
so it's time for my nightly long, hot bath.

Finally it's time to get ready for bed
I'm so exhausted, not much to be said.
We brush our teeth and he reads to me,
Captain Underpants, or something else quite silly.

The lights go off and the blankets spread,
say good night to each other; we’re tucked into bed.
Some days it's not over, sometimes it seems
I relive my whole day in my frantic dreams.

There's never enough time to do it all
and there are times I've dropped the ball.
No matter how hard my life may be,
I have my son, and he has me.

Michelle Ailene True has published two books of poetry, True Reflections (published in 2004) and True Emotions (March, 2005). She's divorced, has a son in 6th grade and works full time as a help desk support agent for singlemothers.org, and also runs a monthly poetry writers workshop".