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Mother’s Eyes
The Hyacinth Review
The Hyacinth Review

Mother’s Eyes

by
May 18, 2023
Portrait of Jo, The Beautiful Irish Girl
Portrait of Jo, The Beautiful Irish Girl; Gustave Courbet, 1865

Lisa Mary Armstrong is a mother and Scottish poet who…

They say I have my mother’s eyes. When I look at pictures’ past, I see a grey melancholy mist descending. In others, they are vivid green. Turbulent like her beloved Irish sea. Sometimes my father’s anger courses through my veins. Red and pulsing, like a young deer’s heart. I cradle it in my hands stained with her tears. Staring sharply down the barrel of his gun I exhale as the cold silver transcends the air. It always leaves its mark. I know it is a plague to feel nothing, so I feel everything. When I look in the mirror, I see my mother standing there. Her ghost dancing in the depths of my reflection. I hold onto her secrets.
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Lisa Mary Armstrong is a mother and Scottish poet who loves tea and all things Greek and mythological. She is also a researcher and tutor in law with a particular interest in women and children's experiences of the criminal justice system and penal reform. You can find out more about her work and poetry @earlgrey79_lisa

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