The twenty-seventh poem from my poetry collection Conception.

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Now I understand…

why ‘no’ sounded so natural.

why we had to wear suncream
and wash our hands before we ate.

why she couldn’t always play chase
or take us to the park

when there was washing,
dusting and dinner to be done.

why toys had to be tidied,
teeth brushed and clothes clean.

why she worried about crossing roads
and fussed over every bruise and fall.

why a daughter can never love like a mother.