Love & Sacrafice "Momma" by Chrystal Meeker
“Love & Sacrifice”
Amber Russell
In the poem,” Momma,” Chrystal Meeker gives a clear view of true devotion and gratefulness. The poem is about a mother that sacrifices to the extreme for her children. She puts her health and hunger behind that of her children, while making certain they have everything they need, without any notice of the financial situation. She first illustrates the common mother-daughter arguments through teenage years. She describes the “constant defiance in the spirit of person conviction cleft a schism between my mother and sister/ they clawed their womanhoods out of each other by handfuls of hair and heart” (Line 1-5). These lines make apparent the complicated, but strong, relationship between her mother and sister. The family is in poor living conditions. In line 9, Meeker tells of how “momma stood vacant eyed and hollow cheeked by hot suds” (Line 9). The mother waits until the children are outside, playing in the lot, before she “began to lick the crumbs from my sisters plate” (Line 19). Her daughter, Kayla, walks in the kitchen. She is “startled and dismayed by the animalistic actions/ of one so usually a lady” (Line 25-26). This describes the mother’s habits of hiding the tough times from her children. She apparently does not want them to observe or endure any of the obstacles she faces. This explains her importance of being a good role model to her children. She is shielding them from the financial issues she struggles with on a daily basis. The author illustrates her sisters guilt “My sister sucked the marrow from the bones of guilt/ when she realized that she had cleaned her plate for a week” (Line 35-36). She carried the secret for thirty years until it ate her up inside/ churned in her stomach like tapeworms hinged with razors” (Line 37-38). Her sister feels very guilty for cleaning her plate all week, without a notice, her mother had not ate for days. We understand that they are poor, although, true love and
Amber Russell
In the poem,” Momma,” Chrystal Meeker gives a clear view of true devotion and gratefulness. The poem is about a mother that sacrifices to the extreme for her children. She puts her health and hunger behind that of her children, while making certain they have everything they need, without any notice of the financial situation. She first illustrates the common mother-daughter arguments through teenage years. She describes the “constant defiance in the spirit of person conviction cleft a schism between my mother and sister/ they clawed their womanhoods out of each other by handfuls of hair and heart” (Line 1-5). These lines make apparent the complicated, but strong, relationship between her mother and sister. The family is in poor living conditions. In line 9, Meeker tells of how “momma stood vacant eyed and hollow cheeked by hot suds” (Line 9). The mother waits until the children are outside, playing in the lot, before she “began to lick the crumbs from my sisters plate” (Line 19). Her daughter, Kayla, walks in the kitchen. She is “startled and dismayed by the animalistic actions/ of one so usually a lady” (Line 25-26). This describes the mother’s habits of hiding the tough times from her children. She apparently does not want them to observe or endure any of the obstacles she faces. This explains her importance of being a good role model to her children. She is shielding them from the financial issues she struggles with on a daily basis. The author illustrates her sisters guilt “My sister sucked the marrow from the bones of guilt/ when she realized that she had cleaned her plate for a week” (Line 35-36). She carried the secret for thirty years until it ate her up inside/ churned in her stomach like tapeworms hinged with razors” (Line 37-38). Her sister feels very guilty for cleaning her plate all week, without a notice, her mother had not ate for days. We understand that they are poor, although, true love and