No

When a mother says

'no',

the sky convulses.

Oceans climb their shores

like beasts

while rivers run red with blood.

Temples split open.

Ancestors weep ash.

Entire cultures

are swallowed whole

by the sound of a woman

drawing a line.

When a mother says

'no'

to proximity to her children,

to private words with her children,

to hands reaching for her children,

the sky weeps

while men clutch their chests

as though boundaries

were bullets.

Hearts stop.

Nations mourn.

The moon abandons the tide

with the absence of

compliance.

When a mother says

'no'

libraries burn,

centuries of tradition

collapse to dust

as communities

fall to ruin.

Except they didn't.

The sky stayed where it was.

The oceans did not rise.

No god descended furious from heaven.

No cultures disappeared overnight.

The world did not end.

No one died.

Instead—

someone simply heard

a word

they weren't used to surviving.

_____________________________

I wrote this poem to address my own frustrations with friends, strangers, and family members believing that boundaries, especially around my children, are negotioable. My children do not exist for the enjoyment of others or to show off societal standing. When I, or any mother, says 'no' to giving access of any kind to our children, it means NO everytime. At no point does it mean convince us. At no point does it mean gaslight us. It doesn't give you the right to hurt us, lie and trick us, or kill us to force access to our children.

When a mother says NO, even if it's to a family member of any kind, it is not an insult, it is not a disrespect. It is a boundary that you wouldn't want crossed if the tables were turned. What is disrespectful is when someone claims we are disrespecting them, hurting them, embarrassing them, killing them because we said they have lost the priveledge to spend time with our children. They lack the ability to understand the word 'no' and to be able to separate reality from their own egos. NO means NO everytime for any reason!