Name: Axyl Llanto

BSED-ENGLISH, 2-C

Reaction Essay of “Your Mother’s First Kiss”

The poem was about a woman who had a child with a man she had never had a
sexual relationship with before. She finds out that the man later raped women in the
midst of battle, raising the issue of war and violence against women. According to
Joseph Conrad, "Being a woman is a terribly difficult task, since it consists principally of
dealing with men." In other words, this remark essentially explains how a woman's role
can be quite contradictory as a result of her daily responsibilities, which involve dealing
with men.

In the poem, it was really a devastating moment on the part of the mother
because no one believed her. The poem stated, "When your mother confessed, I've
never been touched like that before, the friend laughed, his mouth bloodied with grapes,
then plunged a hand between your mother's legs." It was clearly shown that her friend
just laughed when the mother confessed her darkest experience, and I can say that
violence was depicted in that line. This poem is very alarming to every reader since it
portrays the reality of rape. We all know that rape can happen to anyone, whether it’s a
stranger, a friend, an old woman or man, or even a lover. That is why we should all be
careful and aware of each person we encounter and trust every day, because we never
know who will betray us and who will do bad things to us. In addition, I enjoyed the
shocking revelation at the poem's conclusion that the subject of the poem is actually the
father of the mother's rapist.act Every time the mother looks at her child, I can tell that
she is being haunted by memories from her past. I realized that the poem is passive
because the mother didn’t take any action, but instead she let things happen to her. She
never stands up for herself, and we never hear the mother's reaction to this. Her only
reaction to seeing the man who raped her, who was now a bus driver, was to "let out a
deep moan when she saw how much you looked like him."

In conclusion, I think that the speaker seems to be the mother's child, who is
reflecting on what her mother told her. The lines of the poem are a harsh reality, and
they struck deep into my heart. Despite the sad ending, I am still happy that her child
was given an opportunity to see the world’s beauty.