Poem Analysis Essay: The Mother by Gwendolyn Brooks

This essay is a critical response to the poem The Mother by Gwendolyn Brooks. The main thesis of the poem is abortion and the complexities of emotional experience after a woman has had an abortion. It does not matter whether I am a female, male, rich or poor, a Christian or Muslim; there are chances that everyone has an opinion on the issue of abortion. While some people may strongly see abortion as an act of crime, some may see it as a fundamental human right. Personally I strongly think that abortion is a controversial issue. Reading the whole poem, there are not exact signs to show whether the mother is a pro or anti-abortion piece. The poem illustrates the complicated nature of the issue of abortion than most people think the issue is. As a human being the poem opens me up to the emotional journey of a woman who has had an abortion or abortions and further gives me a glimpse of the thoughts and regrets of a mother who has aborted.

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The poem has texts that clash with my views on what is right and wrong in the world. Personally I believe that every child needs to be given a chance to have a good life and be taken care of. If a person is not ready to give a child the best life, then she may as well spare the child the cruelty of the world. In the poem, lines 2 to 10 are all about the things that a mother imagines she would do for her non-existing child or children. You remember the children you got that you not get the damp small pulps with little or with no hair, the singers, and workers that never handled the air.' These lines from line 2 to 4 touch on my view of giving a child the chance to live because they can be anything in the future. They would be next American president or number one Grand Prix racers. The poem goes ahead to sow different ways that a mother would have shown love and care to her non-existing children. I agree that a mother must show love and care to her born children. You will never wind up the sucking-thumb, or scuttle off ghost that come. Return for a snack of them, with gobbling mother-eye. (Lines 7,8,10). However, I have my doubts about whether abortion is an act of killing especially considering the period of growth of the fetus. As to my knowledge some women can get rid of their pregnancy when they are a week or two pregnant. At this time, whatever they are carrying in their stomach can only be a fluid and not fully developed a fetus. Therefore, I do not agree that it is an act of killing because you have to kill a seen living thing and not fluids. If I poisoned the beginnings of your breaths (Line 20).

The poem made me learn about different things from what a woman what has had abortion feels to the fact that abortion is not only an act of not wanting a child. The text of the poem communicated to me and made me change my views on women who aborted and abortion as a whole. Initially, I looked at women who aborted as ruthless and unkind. I did not believe that they had any regrets. However after reading the poem, I clearly understood that women who have had abortions, regret, do not forget their unborn babies and love them. The first line of the poem says Abortions will not let you forget. The poem further illustrates the list of things that abortion would not let a mother forget including the children that a mother was to get but never did. In the last line of the poem the author writes, Believe me, I knew you all, though faintly, and I loved you, I loved you all. By using the words, I loved you. It is clear that the mother had strong feelings for her unborn children that she would wish to have.

As I mentioned earlier, abortion is a controversial issue that many people advocate for while some do not. The poem addresses an important issue such as love of children, emotions and family. I hold my family so close to me because I know that they are my blood and would do anything to ensure am happy and have what I need in this world. Abortion is an important issue that affects our families, ethnic groups, religious communities and the social, economic and political environment. Some politicians use the issue as a campaigning platform to show which side they take on the issue and why they do so. Clearly a person I judged by how well they treat third children and families and by the mere fact that a woman can abort her child she can be judged to be unkind and a killer. While at the same time religious entities may seek to forgive such aspects but still strongly condemn abortion. The poem passed the who care test because it has touched different groups in the society who all have an opinion on the issue of abortion. Lines 31-33 says, Believe me I loved you all, Believe me, I knew you, though faintly, and I loved you, I loved you all. These lines are a plea from the author, a political stance. The author seeks the forgiveness and acceptance of different people to let her mourn the unborn babies. The lines seek to stop people from judging women who have had abortions by choice from being seen as bad people.

As far as the poem is concerned, the author h sued simple and straight forward language to send her message. The poem writing style is effective in sending the message because the lines are short and well organized. As a reader, it is easy to comprehend and understand the message because the author moves swiftly from one point to another without complications. The length of the poem also encourages the reader to repeat the poem easily severally for better understanding. However, I believe that the poem did not give sufficient illustration n the issue of abortion. The poem does not take any sides of the issue. I believe it would have been better if the author had taken one side instead of being unbiased. I agree with a large portion of the text especially the fact that mothers love their unborn babies even if they aborted them. I dont think that there is a possibility that a mother does not regret aborting her child at some point in her life. The simplicity of the text makes it difficult to disagree with the content because it is well straight forward.

I enjoyed the poem as a form of art because of several reasons. The first reason is that the poem was able to catch my attention. The text quality was standard and simple and therefore with the better understanding I was able to enjoy the reading. The second reason is that the poem indulged my emotions. The topic of abortion is crucial but also sad and unfortunate. As I read the poem, I found myself thinking critically and sympathizing with women who have had abortions. The third reason for enjoying the poem as a work of art is the use of different styles of writing like the use of rhymes. Since anyhow tour dead, or rather or instead, you were never made, but that too am afraid (Lines 24 -27). The use of figurative speech is also evident in the poem as the mother takes the blame for stealing the abstract qualities of the childhood of her unborn children by using the words names, games, and births. Tonal variation in the poem is also evident when the mother moves from a normal and sad tone to a harsh tone when she says that poisoned their breaths.' The guilt that she is carrying may have taken a toll on her forcing her to vent and lash out. How the author begins her poem impressed me because it caught my attention immediately, I looked at the poem. It made want to know more about what abortions would not let me forget.

After reading the poem, my reaction was to sympathize with women especially those that have had abortions. Through the text of the poem, I have come to realize what they go through emotionally. I would read something similar to this poem because other than being educative it shows concern for a controversial issue that needs to be addressed. The author has produced an interesting and captivating piece in this poem, and I am sure there are other pieces that the author has written and I would like to read them in the future. The writing style that the author has used makes it even interesting to read this piece, and that can be a reason to look forward to some of the authors works. I would strongly recommend this poem to a woman who has had an abortion and keeps feeling guilty about it.

By reading such a piece, a woman may feel that she is not alone and that what she is feeling is the right feeling and that she is normal to feel what she is feeling. I would also recommend this poem to people those judge women that have had an abortion; for example religious entities, husbands and boyfriends, political entities and the community in general. I would also recommend this poem to a young lady who has not gotten pregnant yet. Before reading this text, I was very skeptical and judgmental on women who have had and would have an abortion. However, I have changed my view on the matter as I understand that women who have had abortions also mourn. It is an important piece of art that has an important message that can change the opinions of different people as far as abortion is concerned.