Immovable

by Cheryl Merrick

Like waves endlessly crashing
upon the stone cliff,
the mother's relentless taunts
selfishly strive to pull her daughter,
and all that she has, out to sea - to her.

The Matriarch,
claiming that she has the "right" to all family resources,
and that it is her children's duty to meet her needs
and enable her to live in her "deserved" affluent lifestyle,
relentlessly pounds upon her daughter
trying to use the love and faith of her daughter
as weapons to enslave her.


As the matriarch's manipulative words spill out,
they poison the water around her.
"You should feel shame that
you have a home of your own, financial security,
health, a strong husband, children living nearby,
and the ability to go places when I do not.

A fearful child inside,
the mother desperately yearns for someone to take care of her.
Desiring her daughter to meet her needs for
companionship, love, financial security, home,
self esteem, social status, travel, and entertainment,
she even denies her aging body,
wanting her daughter to maintain her home and yard for her
as she was once able to do.

Disowning responsibility for meeting her own needs,
she sees herself as a mere victim
who believes that what she is attempting
to take from her daughter is her "just due".
"It is fair. It is as it should be.
Your energy, abilities, your husband,
and all your resources are mine by right.
Besides, someday your turn will come
when you are the matriarch."

From her vantage high upon the lava cliffs,
the daughter safely watches from the home
she has painstakingly built through years and years
of loving service, diligent study, constant prayer, and frugal living.

So tired of being parent to her child/mother
who has refused to nurture relationships or
make responsible financial plans,
the daughter knows there is little she can do
to help someone who won't help herself.

She wonders how her mother can not see
that she is no longer a small powerless, isolated stone
to be rolled around at her mother's whim,
but is now a part of the solid land mass
of church members, friends,
and family extending into eternity.

So standing immovable upon the cliff,
and knowing that all must reap
the consequences of their own actions,
the daughter looks down with sadness
aware that her mother could meet her own needs
if she only had confidence in herself.