On Mother Words

I have to say, I really enjoyed this short collection of poems. More than anything else, Naomi shows us that motherhood is a universal process—the same across time and space. As someone without children, I’ve always thought that motherhood (and parenthood more broadly) has changed considerably. After all, what child of the Great Depression was raised with mass-produced toys, library programs for literacy, etc.? But, Naomi shows us not the world around raising children, but the relationship itself. The poems are about the connection between mother and child, and this offers us a lucid look at the emotional relationship between mother and child.

Do not let the self-publication of this work cause you to think that it is any less worthy than a poetry collection from a publishing house—it’s really good.