Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Poem: Good Mother

My mother with 11 of her 13 grandchildren in 1989

I’ve been thinking about my mother lately. She died at age 73 in 1997.  I was 44 years old.  I loved her, was sometimes impatient with her, often wished we could say more to each other, and still miss her very much. 


Good Mother

There were moments
Before you died
When I wanted to say it all,
Pouring out my feelings
Into a pool at your feet,
Hoping you’d dip your hands deep,
Reading the rippling
Water like tea leaves
Proffered by a psychic,
Telling all the stories,
Some happy, some sad,
Some untold, some unsaid,

But you remained the strong one,
Not reaching for the soothing relief of water,
Holding feelings close
Until the time had passed for sharing,

The night you died,
I felt your spirit rise,
The ponderous weight of human musings
No longer relevant,

I knew the goodness
Of your soul
That night,

I felt the tide rush in
Carrying our unspoken words
To a distant shore
Where healing lives
And broken hearts are mended,

Farewell, God speed. 
Good mother.

3 comments:

  1. Hi Rita - been catching up on your blog tonight - such great stories & poems :) ----interesting that you would post a poem about your Mom - I really love it. Seems like Mom's have been coming up on blogs lately ;) ---love your poem for Butler - maybe next year :( ---love your work so much as I love you too :) xxxxooo

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  2. Thank you, Marti. Mothers are such an important part of who we become in life. She had been on my mind a lot lately. Yes, too bad about Butler. I love the coach and the team. Thanks for your kind comments. It means a lot! xoxo

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  3. i needed to read this and i am glad that it was here to read. it is a beautiful poem and it brought me a bit of comfort.

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