Mothers and Mulberry Tree - Mosab Abu Toha

[Lawrence Robinson]

Mothers and Mulberry Tree

There is a dog giving birth to seven puppies

beneath a white mulberry tree under the clear night sky.
The dog groans with pain,
puppy after puppy cries, unaware where they are.

For them, it’s still dark, whether in her belly or outside.
What country are we in?
That’s not a question for a puppy to ask.

Only Mother dog and the soil beneath can hear
the branch of the mulberry tree—
for every moan
a blossom comes out.

>From her bedroom window, a mother, still awake,
watches the dog, its puppies, and the mulberry tree,
while her child, eyes closed, suckles from her breast.

And the drone watches over all.

	- Mosab Abu Toha