My Mother Has My Heart by Lesléa Newman

My Mother Has My Heart

My mother has my heart and I have hers,
We traded on the day that she gave birth.
Each passing year the line between us blurs,
Until the day I lay her in the earth.
My heart in her now cracked and split in two,
Her heart in me now wound down like a clock,
As she and I turn into something new,
The love between us hardens into rock.
My heart in her a newborn mourning dove,
Still safely tucked inside its sheltered nest.
Her heart in me a letter signed with love,
A treasure I keep deep within my chest.
From this day forth, whatever else occurs,
My mother has my heart and I have hers.

by Lesléa Newman, from I Carry My Mother

Lesléa on Facebook

Twitter: @lesleanewman

Editor’s Note: This poem circles into itself, mirroring the emotional attachment of daughter and mother and the enduring love that surpasses death.