The Mother

By avoiding third person, “the mother” reads like a dramatic monologue. Since the whole poem is from the perspective of the mother herself, the reader can intuit her emotions from her choice of words. The singsong nature of perfect rhymes comes off as ironic and bitter, given the subject matter. Simple monosyllabic words like “beat” and “sweet,” “thumb” and “come” are shrouded in darkness when read in context (Lines 4-8). This also amplifies the moments when the simple rhymes are broken. “Deliberate” stands out as an awkward four-syllable word in Line 20, and the speaker never attempts to rhyme “children” with anything, despite its place at the end of Line 11.

While the rich metaphorical violence shows a solemn understanding of the permanence of her actions, the speaker’s pain peaks in moments when her language is most plain. Following a philosophical rhetorical question about how to state truth, the following line lands heavily: “You were born, you had body, you died” (Line 29). These moments of simplicity surrounded by poetic imagery seem burdened by exhaustion, and they make the lyricism that follows them that much more of a strain.

In a poem where every line is a new thought or image, repeated words and phrases give the reader a sense of consistency and sureness. Brooks is clearly capable of coming up with multiple ways to parse the same image or idea, so when she repeats herself, it’s not for lack of skill. “Children” is the only repeated collective noun referring to the speaker’s offspring. Although she wrestles with the idea of whether or not the children were children at all, insisting on this term shows a predisposition to default to the most maternal framing available.

The repeated subject-verb-object syntax of “I have” throughout the second stanza is useful for its clarity, and its appearance four times across three lines allows the reader to fall into a sort of rhythm. This is especially thoughtful craft in anticipation of the poem’s longest, most crowded line: “Your stilted or lovely loves, your tumults, your marriages, aches, and your deaths” (Line 18). Finally, the speaker repeats the word “believe” (Lines 21, 31-32) and the phrase “I loved” (Lines 31-32) three times each, leaning into their religious connotations.