Poems in the Mother Tongue observes and chronicles moments in one woman's life as a mother, a family member, a teacher, and a wondering soul over thirteen years, beginning when the author's children were six, 10, and 14, and ending when they were 19, 22, and 26. From the sweetness and turmoil of mothering young children, to the deepening layers of knowledge, maternal and otherwise, that we acquire as we age, the poems travel from the mostly contained sphere of a young family living in the country to the fierce love and faith required to launch young adults on their journeys into our world in the present moment.