TRIAL: The Road of Trials
“Motherload,” by Kate Baer
The Road of Trials
We’re on the road (possibly we’re on it again). And if we are mothers, this road of trials, this party, well, it goes on forever, as Robert Earl Keen taught us. There will be tests. There will be trials. There will be no obvious potty breaks in sight.
“Motherload”
To be a mother is to bear a load carried for your entire life. It is deeply physical, whether or not motherhood involves a personal pregnancy. It includes “urgent papers, vast appointments, lists of / minor things.” It contains moments when you clench your “hallux” because it is the only thing you can clench secretly. It is indeed “a cosmos of everything.”
Be a Hero
Like many girls, I had a lot of conflicts with my mother, and the older I get, the more I think most of them were my fault. My mother got to meet my children, but she died when they were 13 and almost 10. She has become my hero. I don’t think I am currently my children’s hero, but then again, neither of them has walked this particular road of trials.
Kate Baer has, and that’s why I like her.
Try to learn a little of this poem by heart.
What does it say about your hero’s journey?
If you like, email me at megan.willome@yahoo.com.
I loved this book. As soon as I finished, I began reading it again.”
—David Lee Garrison, author of Playing Bach in the D. C. Metro
