A Poem For The Mothers Who Said "No"

To all the mothers who learned

that love sometimes sounds like a slammed door,

who stood in kitchens with trembling hands

and summoned the courage to say

Not this time,

Not this way,

Not with my blessing.

You, who watched your child’s face fall-

the hope flicker, the dream deferred,

the anger, the tears,

the accusations hurled like stones:

You don’t understand.

You never let me.

You’re so unfair.

You, who felt every word

as if it were a wound,

who lay awake replaying the argument,

wondering if you’d done the right thing,

if “no” was too harsh,

if “yes” would have been easier-

but knowing, deep in your bones,

that love is not always gentle,

that boundaries are a mother’s prayer

etched in invisible ink.

You, who said no to midnight rides

with friends you didn’t trust,

no to parties with doors closed tight,

no to the easy way out,

no to the shortcut, the compromise,

the thing that “everyone else” was doing.

You, who said no to one more drink,

no to the car keys,

no to the dangerous dare,

no to the secret that felt too heavy to hold,

no to the voice that whispered,

“Just let them go.”

You, who said no and meant it,

even when your heart broke

at the sound of your child’s disappointment,

even when you longed to be the hero,

the “cool mom,”

the one who says yes

and is loved for it.

You, who stood firm as a lighthouse

in the storm of adolescence,

who bore the brunt of slammed doors,

silent treatments,

and cold shoulders-

but never stopped loving,

never stopped hoping,

never stopped praying

for the day your “no” would be understood

as the deepest “yes” to life,

to safety,

to a future your child couldn’t yet see.

You, who know that saying “no”

is not the absence of love

but its fiercest, most protective form,

who know that every boundary drawn

is a line of defense

against the world’s sharp edges.

To you, mothers of courage,

who risked being misunderstood,

who chose the hard road

over the easy smile,

who trusted that one day

your child would look back

and see not a jailer,

but a guardian,

not a tyrant,

but a shepherd guiding them

through shadowed valleys

toward green pastures.

Today, may you feel seen,

may you feel honored,

may you know that your “no”

was a gift wrapped in wisdom,

your love a shield

that turned away harm

and welcomed tomorrow.

Happy Mother’s Day

to the mothers who said “no”-

and in doing so,

said yes

to everything that matters most.