Love Breaks Chains By Ceinwen E Cariad Haydon

Love Breaks Chains

My own mother slapped me to shape me good,
landed extra strikes to chase badness from me.
Mum feared her own failings, as Gran said she should,
cruel mothers both, they mistreated their babies.

A rebel, I fell pregnant when only nineteen,
intent on changing herstories, once and for all.
Cruel mothers both, they mistreated their babies.
I had no one to learn from, no one to call.

Intent on changing herstory, once and for all,
I tended to my daughter, tried not to flounder.
I had no one to learn from, no one to call,
yet conjured loving kindness to surround her.

I tended to my daughter, tried not to flounder,
managed to behave as a loving mother would
and conjured loving kindness to surround her.
My own mother punched me. I strove to be good.

Ceinwen E Cariad Haydon [MA, Creative Writing, Newcastle University, UK, 2017]
Ceinwen lives near Newcastle upon Tyne, UK and writes short stories and poetry. She is widely published in online magazines and in print anthologies. Her first chapbook was published in July 2019: ‘Cerddi Bach’ [Little Poems], Hedgehog Press. Her first pamphlet is due to be published in 2021. She is a Pushcart Prize and Forward Prize nominee. She is developing practice as a participatory arts facilitator and believes everyone’s voice counts.