the once-hip mom

hormones started it all
taking her into puberty
whether she liked it or not
making her the object of the male gaze
at an early age &
she found the affection of many,
she partied hardy,
squeezing herself into the tightest clothing,
snorting the best shit she could find
with 100 proof veins,
pumping loud music into her throbbing
eardrums,
staying up 24/7---
raging against the dying of the light
&
when it all fell back on itself,
she got cleaned up
she got a career &
when age started to slow it all down,
she settled on a bloke who
had actual feelings for her &
the storybook was opened---
soon a new life was on the way &
with an already happy household established
the two decided to have it,
fumbling their way into parenthood
as parents will do when they first start out,
still trying to balance some sort of
life that they once had
while devoting every second to the rearing of
the new daughter---
after many sacrifices &
many sleepless nights,
the years passed & mom saw her wrinkles
begin to race neck n’ neck
with the arrival of lush brown hair now turning
grey---
her daughter, however, began to bloom,
just as she had when she hit such an age &
the sneaking out to see boys,
the first time caught drinking,
the squeezing into tight clothes &
the complete breakdown of what once seemed to be a
healthy mother-daughter relationship,
found its way into the once-hip mom’s home---
now mother starts to look at her daughter with jealousy &
she gets not one iota of support from her own mother
who finds it hilarious that finally the boomerang made its way
around &
now the shoe is on the other foot,
where the frustration & responsibility has been handed down
to the daughter who once caused so much to her own mother,
now suffering at the whim of
her own teenager.