“My Mother Defends Her Territory” is a video poem I recorded in Paris, France, for inclusion in the Shelter in Magic Reading Series, a project created by the Magic City Poetry Festival of Birmingham, Alabama. The Board invited writers with strong ties to "The Magic City" to record works so as to continue poetry despite the 2020's festival postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you to Executive Director Ashley M. Jones and Program Coordinator Alina Stefanescu for including me.