i’m a great mother

she yelled

i listened but

i knew it wasn’t me

she was talking to

what did i matter

just another voice

on the phone telling

a truth to a caregiver

without an entire story

to back it up who was

i to be convinced that

she was worthy

kind or true just

a soon forgotten memory

a snapshot blurred by

time and circumstance

knowing my place

i offered an ear

and she screamed into

it as if her life

depended on it

i sat still

a meditating

conduit for the

funnel she created

a pass through

it doesn’t matter

what i think

i said

it only matters

what you believe

well i do

the best

i can, she told me

and that is where

we left it

life as a social worker can be arduous. there are entire seasons when you feel as if you aren’t taking a single step forward with any project you are working on. it’s life in quicksand and you only have a snake’s head to pull yourself and the people around you out.