I Am Mother by Melissa Norton | One Poem Only

One Poem Only · Mar 6, 2026 · 1m

One Poem Only is a daily poetry podcast offering a quiet moment with a single poem—read aloud, without analysis or noise.

I Am Mother

Melissa Norton

I am Mother, stepping barefoot on the snake.

Absorbing her power as her body wraps tight around my leg.

I, with quick, sharp force sever the head full of venom

As my mother has done with the point of a shovel

As I have done with a horrified hatchet

My babies will fear no fangs.

I am Mother. Protector. Warrior. Safe Haven.

I am Mother. I know powerful, truest love.

I have trudged through petrifying, thick and heavy fear.

Stepped over serpents of…