Mother Tongue
Original EveryPoem Studio house-voice poem.
Before language, there was her voice—
not words, but weather:
hum in the dark,
rain-soft shushing,
my name before I knew it was mine.
I have learned other languages,
ordered coffee in three countries,
said goodbye with practiced ease.
Still, pain sends me backward
to the first sound of safety,
the voice that taught my body
what home meant.
59 words · 12 lines · Free Verse