The Weight of Two Worlds

She wakes before the sun can rise,

With weary hands and heavy eyes.

The clock ticks loud, a cruel refrain,

Marking the hours of joy and strain.

Her dreams are folded, put away,

To make room for another day

Of scraped knees, meals, and bedtime fights,

A thousand tasks in sleepless nights.

The world demands she must be strong,

A steady rock, where all belong.

Yet in her heart, a quiet plea:

"Who will be strong like this for me?"

She carries worlds upon her back,

A home, a love, the things they lack.

Her laughter shields what tears conceal,

A fortress built of wounds that heal.

And though her strength is vast and true,

Her soul still yearns for moments too—

To pause, to breathe, to feel the grace

Of being held in someone’s space.

But in her child’s unguarded grin,

She finds the will to fight again.

Each “I love you” and sleepy embrace

Fills the cracks time cannot erase.

Her path is hard, her burdens steep,

Yet in her love, the roots run deep.

For though she walks this road alone,

She builds a kingdom, stone by stone.

And in her heart, a flame will glow,

A quiet strength the world won’t know.

For single mothers bear the proof:

That love is strong, and hearts are roofs.