mothers aren't always kind--
they're sometimes passive-aggressive oppressors
thrusting tiny pin-pricks right into the quick
with precision and calculated malign...
trust me, mother knows
just the spot to best get to you
to fold you down
just like a carry-along
bagged tent...
<Deleted User> (19913)
Mon 31st Dec 2018 13:44
There's soooo much baggage carried around by the term Mother. Many a serial killer has been made from the most twisted ones .... As a mother I hope to limit my dysfunction and not project my own fears or desires on my kids... It's a tough job for sure. I always love your poems Rachel, and this certainly provoked thought. Happy New Year to you.
Happy New Year Rachel. Anything that ends with .....ism is dodgy on all sorts of levels. Mothers huh? Fact is, none of us'd be here without one. I like the pin-prick image, like insect stings, enough to drive you mad. John
elPintor
Sun 25th Nov 2018 00:49
Hi John,
I believe that within the many families where a mother like this exists, dysfunction has merely become function. In other words, there is an interplay of (functional or dysfunctional) variables that brings about a set of end results that represents the norm within the family to whom it is specific.
I believe that most parents are aware of the special position they hold and are loathe to consciously take advantage, yet are mostly helpless to faults they can't possibly correct due to a blindness to the self--we all have it to one degree or another.
For obvious reasons, it is absolutely true that women exert their power in different ways than men. Though, I will refrain from further stereotyping or victimization of any group in favor of another--it's just too much to get into.
Thanks for your comment--I'm very glad to revisit.
Rachel
PS
I'm looking at the second paragraph of my comment and rethinking the first phrase--as parents we most certainly take advantage of our position, yet mostly try to do so in a constructive manner...and even that barely suffices...
Hi El Pintor
Yes it's very dark and straight to the point. Leaves me somehow wanting to know more. In my experience, mothers tend to be more bossy and controlling than fathers. For example they often project their social aspirations onto their offspring.
John S
elPintor
Thu 22nd Nov 2018 00:37
Hey, man, I love the Dolls. The theatrics are so gorgeous and over-the-top and, besides, Amanda Palmer reminds me of my niece and so, I listen and watch every so often when I'm feeling nostalgic for family and the simplicity of deep, often unspoken, true love. Thanks for the link.
Lovely to have you peek in, Stu.
Rachel x
PS
As teenagers, my younger brother and I once shot an instant photo of her (my niece) at three years--a cute little towhead dressed in a shredded Metallica tee, and a cig hanging from her pouty lip--she had the act down from the beginning...
Alas, that picture didn't survive my mother's scrutiny--at least I have the memory.
lovely and dark rachel. just the way i like it.
reminds me of this song. hope you get the chance to listen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sO5APfKnR50
elPintor
Sat 17th Nov 2018 02:29
It's been a somewhat long silence and, maybe, it's not entirely necessary to address you each, individually, but it's preferable for me...
David, I'm absolutely sure that everyone of us is qualified to comment, no matter the slant from which we come. Though, I'll say, not all comments are created equal. I'm not sure how to justify that statement without either spoken word or a collegiate thesis--I just know it's true and I'm sure you feel the same.
Sal, I can't help but notice, by your comment, a certain detail I hadn't quite noticed in this way, before--perception of ever greater minutia is perhaps the reason why small children watch certain movies over and over.
Martin, I hadn't quite noticed the "mother knows best" line in this obvious way--she (he, it, they) can be quite insidious as we usually remain quite unaware of their collective voices until well past late adolescence.
And, Ray, I laughed when I heard your voice say, "fuck off"...I can only imagine that it is reserved for only a special few--more power to you.
Thanks for provoking thought--I need all the provocation I can get (?) from this distance...
Rachel
Rachel, I can't help but agree with your last comment. A neighbour of mine had a daughter who was a carer, and she was a raging lunatic, a veritable rottweiller when confronted - one of the few I have told to fuck off and get an education. She was a carer in regular employment.
Ray.
It's that one line isn't it
'Trust me mother knows best'
That is the killer line. Fortunately my mother has never said or implied that to me.
But I can imagine there maybe some who have said that and their children have taken that on board.
Nice one Rachel
Big Sal
Sun 11th Nov 2018 23:39
A sordid twist on - mother knows best. This itself unfolded like a neatly-placed mannequin in pose.
elPintor
Sun 11th Nov 2018 23:23
Thanks, all for your comments and reading.
Psychological manipulation presents in many forms. Moreover, mothers certainly aren't the sole perpetrators of such tactics, though they are positioned in such a way that these very subtle weapons can be wielded with exceptional efficacy.
Abuse in the form of such mind games is often obfuscated and, indeed, seems to masquerade as love within some caregiver-dependent relationships--I suspect the ways in which it manifests is every bit as diverse as the nature of interpersonal communication itself.
Enjoy what remains of the weekend.
Rachel
My observation elsewhere (not answered) that women in the
form of motherhood have so much influence (power?) over
us in life - for good or bad - is, to me, given added force in these lines.
Dark waters and an injection of caution - a spirited poem which leads us into the eye of a power struggle. So much can be passed on my parents - you'd need many books worth of analysis to cover this, yet it's right under our noses, Rachel.
The relationship between child and mother, a complex subject. I agree mothers are not always kind. ?
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elPintor
Sat 12th Jan 2019 20:58
Thanks, all, for your comments during my protracted absence. I haven't had time to dedicate to writing much of anything, but I can't complain--my situation has been right down uproarious of late, in a splendid sort of way.
Take good care, to all you contributors, both silent and outspoken.
Rachel