Uploaded September 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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96 The Other Mother
1
I had a friend during my teaching days,
Who said his mother had died.
But the name didn’t match the obituary,
We were friends so I asked him why.
2
Austin said he had two mothers,
And he claimed to love them both,
I didn’t question his sincerity,
But I did come pretty close.
3
In my mind I conjured up a story,
Of switched babies fresh out of the crib,
Of lawyers and vicious custody battles,
Between the parents of the kid.
4
But it turned out to be none of that,
His birth mother was simply young and torn.
Austin’s aunt adopted him,
A few days after he was born.
5
Years went by and the Aunt
Was the only mother that Austin knew,
But time went by and the birth mother recovered,
And Austin’s family grew.
6
When he was old enough the mothers
Explained the association,
They were sisters and both were his mothers
And that was the whole of the situation.
7
Austin said he took it in stride,
It all made sense to him,
Except now having two mothers would mean,
Your mother would die and then die again.