You Have to Read Amber Tamblyn's Sweet Poem to Her Daughter
Most mothers get gifts on Mother's Day, but Amber Tamblyn isn't most moms. Instead of waiting for a fancy present or <shudder> brunch, she decided to give something to her daughter to commemorate her first Mother's Day as a mom: an emotional poem.
Tamblyn welcomed her daughter, Marlow, in February, and used her poem - which was published on Amy Poehler's website, Amy Poehler's website, Smart GirlsSmart Girls - to share her experiences both before and after she gave birth.
In "Y for Yes," Tamblyn speaks to her daughter about the effect becoming a mother has had on her, and how she plans to teach her daughter to be a powerful woman.
She started by writing about her daughter's actual birth:
"Yes, my abdomen openedlike an eye and I blinked youinto being, sweet little tear;My single shed rose,daughter of the body's equator,a spit of hope from my gut's duct.Yes, after you dripped loose,they stapled me closedwith two dozen metal eyelashesbatting into my skin."
Then she went on to address her experience of being pregnant during the election, and the contrast between what was happening in the world and what she was experiencing as her daughter grew inside her. Just weeks before giving birth, Tamblyn participated in the Women's March, which she acknowledged in the poem:
"Yes. I marched with youin a war of women in Washingtonwhen you were ready to be born,against doctor's orders,against better judgments,against a systemthat wants our livesnot lived."
She finished the poem with a message to Marlow about her fears and wishes as a parent for her as she grows up.
"Yes. I cannot keep you completely safe.Yes. It breaks me to know that I can't.Yes. You will know pains I never wanted you to.Yes. I will be there for some but not all."
And she made sure to include her desires for her daughter to ignore the negative influences our society can have on women.
"Yes. We are imperfect and our imperfections are wars we will not wage on ourselves.Yes. I will teach you beauty by a different definition.Yes. I will expect everything for you and nothing from you.Yes. I will love you as your own, not my own.Yes. I will teach kindness to your body."
Tamblyn has been writing poetry since she was a kid, and in "Y for Yes" she put words to feelings and experiences that many mothers have a hard time articulating. Her love for her daughter is clear, and her appreciation for how becoming a mother has changed her, physically from her stretch marks to her c-section scar to internally being humbled by her presence.
"Yes. I love you bigger and brighter than a new galaxy's birth," she wrote in the sweet tribute. The words may be Tamblyn's own, but I'm sure all moms can relate to the overwhelming feeling of love this poem expresses.
Read the whole poem here.
[h/t Huffington Post]
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