Illustration
Scott Stripling
Amber Koski /
mother’s mantra 2.1
Mother always said this too shall pass. She said it about my lack of faith in timing the hard-boiled
eggs, in God – especially when I’d gone astray, lost the Lord. When Daddy drank too much: this too
shall pass. When I failed Algebra: this too shall pass. Mother hit menopause, wailed about the broken
air conditioning, all the “damn Alabama heat,” the sweat stains on her favorite cotton top: this too shall
pass, I said. Daddy lost his job, forgot to find a new one: this too shall pass. Mother worked two jobs, all
the overtime she could find, her feet turned blue from standing: this too shall pass, she whispered into
the PB&J she packed for my lunch the next day; this too shall pass told as secrets to the wet washing
as she changed them over to tumble dry. Daddy flew off the handle, she said, threw her jewelry box
from the second-story window of their bedroom. Mother crawled into bed with me, pulled me tight
to her, the down comforter pricking me in the spots where the feathers were trying to be free: this
too shall pass, we said. The tumble dryer rat-tat-tatting – too full, against the sheetrock wall behind
us. Mother, meet Sarah, she’s my girlfriend: this too shall pass, she said and went back to the dishes.
After major life-changing events in the past few years,
Scott Stripling has decided to pursue his passion for art
and comics. Recently accepted into the Sequential Artists
Workshop, he’s working hard to make make his dream a
reality. Find him at: shootthemooncomics and