atomic mom in poetry

it's a difficult thing
holding on
to an atomic bomb
it is even weirder
when the bomb
is your mom
because my mom
is the bomb
she is the best in a crisis
the lady gets things done
she's tough and I like it

my mom's total competence
is our nuclear deterrence
when shit gets weird
her tenacity
is what gets us through it
but

the problem with having an atomic mom
is much the same as the problem as
having an atomic bomb
when it's not a crisis
she doesn't know what to do with herself
when we're not at war
our bombs just sit on the shelf
and leak deadly radiation
when she is at rest
watching the shopping station
she feels really bored and
she's feeling ignored
she'll create a crisis
she'll needle and fight us
just to have a problem to solve
no matter how little
we want to be involved

she's a nurse in full
she knows how to work the authorities
she knows how to heal trauma
she's the
goddamned best
on Earth in a pinch
but because that's where she aces the test
she also needs drama

she needs all the gossip
she needs to criticize
she needs to think there's something to fix
she needs to make everything queen-sized
so she has something to engage
because she's so brilliant
at standing up on bad days

when the fan gets going hit-shitty
there's nothing I'd rather have
deterring the monsters
at the gates of my city
and that's why I love her
my protector
my atomic bomb
my atomic mom
she's amazing

but when she is idle
and just navel gazing
lead walls would be nice too
that's all I'm saying