The poem also explores the guilt and regret that the mother feels for her decisions, as she wonders what her children would have become if she had allowed them to live.
She describes the children as “little sucked-in breaths” and “little voices lost” which highlights the idea that they were never given a chance to live and grow. The speaker, who is a mother, is haunted by the memories of the children she has lost through abortion. One of the main themes of “The Mother” by Gwendolyn Brooks is the pain and grief that comes with losing a child.
