Happy Mother’s Day

My breasts ache when babies cry.

I’ve heard it is written somewhere in the Talmud
that a mother wants to nourish her child
even more than a child wants to nurse.

I believe it.

Not knowing how to ask,
or what to ask for,
babies are born into mothers’ arms
bundles of want and need, desire and expectation, hope and demand.
Mothers are asked to satisfy enough to give security and trust,
and leave wanting enough to give reach and dream.

My breasts ache when babies cry.
My arms are empty.