FINAL THOUGHTS ON Mother's Day

FINAL THOUGHTS ON MOTHER’S DAY

We marched on Mother’s Day to protest children being held in detention centers

In a country we think has gone awry

We marched for children being treated as prisons

We marched to ask the question…Why?

We marched for children who were not welcomed here

Instead…in glorified cages we hide them away

Where they sit confused and sad and lonely

separated from their mothers…on Mother’s Day.

Or any day for that matter…

and it makes my heart go numb

remembering how proud I once was of my country…

and seeing what we’ve become.

Where once a mighty woman with a torch

shone her light for the world to see

we once welcomed anyone into our country

anyone yearning to be free…

As we made our peaceful march

carrying signs pleading for children to be free

I saw mothers with their families in restaurants,

enjoying the park…even climbing in old Banyon trees.

And I couldn’t help thinking about those other children…

the ones our country has hidden away…

In a detention center here in Florida

separated from their mothers…on Mother’s Day.

It’s true that mighty woman is still standing

but now I’m filled with doubt…

for I believe if you look closely

her torch light has gone out.

But I won’t give up on it ever shining again

I won’t surrender…I won’t quit

with a little acceptance and compassion

her light can be relit.

THE OTHER SIDE OF Mother's Day

Yesterday we celebrated mothers with a Facebook shout out or a tweet

we called them, gave them gifts…perhaps we took them out to eat.

And it is wonderful to honor the person who first sent us on our way

but today always make me think about the other side of Mother’s Day.

There is an interweave of feelings for some as they celebrate Mother’s Day

Happy their mom was in their lives…sad she’s passed away.

Sad she’s not here to see our shout out or our tweet

Sad she cannot receive our call, our gift…or go with us out to eat.

Because the moment she is no longer with us…the moment she ceases to be here

Mother’s Day will alway be a mix of happiness…and tears.

We are happy for all the memories…all those hopes and dreams she spawned

Yet sad knowing memories are all that’s left now that she’s gone.

Perhaps this is the best way to think about our Moms as we move from year to year

Remembering a lifetime of memories…

with a smile…

and a tear.

HER MANY HATS

When I was young my mom, like most women, donned a hat when she went out.

Dad said it added to her beauty…of this I had no doubt.

My mom had a collection of hats she stored in boxes under her bed.

So many different kinds of bonnets that sat atop her head.

Moms of today are different they go out with their heads bare

but one thing they share with Moms of the past are the many hats they wear.

If we tried to count the hats they don...we couldn’t...they go on indefinitely

Perhaps one way to approach it...is alphabetically.

Moms are:

Accountants

Babysitters

Chauffeurs...they do what 

Doctors and 

Electricians do…they are

Farmers 

Governors 

Housekeepers, and 

Ice cream makers too…they are

Janitors 

Kitchen and 

Laundry workers, and 

Maids who clean the floor…they are

Nurses 

Optometrists,

Painters 

Quality control inspectors and furthermore they are

Receptionists 

Seamstresses and 

Teachers…they can

Upholster that sofa or that chair…they are

Valets 

Washroom Attendants and 

X-Ray technicians…ready anytime and anywhere…they are

Yard managers and every Mom I know is also a keeper of the 

Zoo

That’s 26 different hats they wear…

26 different jobs that all Moms do.

Moms are the original and still the best multi-taskers the world has ever met.

In fact, I didn’t run out of hats for them...I ran out of alphabet!

I guess it’s a good thing each job doesn’t have a hat that sits atop Moms head

for there wouldn’t be enough room to store the boxes under their beds.

They are visionaries, they are cheerleaders, so much of our existence they adorn

yet they had no experience as a mother until the day when we were born.

Because it was at that miraculous moment, despite their fearfulness and qualms

when they smiled as they looked at us and realized……’I’m a Mom.’

For that is the hat that encompasses the rest...the hat we call motherhood

and I must admit, from where I stand 

Moms…you make that hat look good.

So Moms, here’s to a wonderful Mother’s Day as this poem bids you all adieu

For all the many hats you wear…

our hats are off to you.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY

TWO HEARTS IN HARMONY

When you were born you were so tiny.

I was already taken with your charms.

We both began to cry until they put you in my arms.

I think I know what made us stop.

It was easy for me to see.

We both could hear the music of two hearts in harmony.

When you were born you couldn’t talk…but to my surprise

You seemed to say so much to me…when I looked into your eyes.

When you were born you couldn’t walk.

You didn’t have a clue…

but that didn’t matter because anywhere we went…I would carry you.

When you grew up…began walking on your own

I was there to guide you

and as you became more independent…I was proud to walk beside you

When you grew up…you didn’t stop talking

but, to my surprise

I still found so much meaning…when I looked into your eyes.

Even now, when you’re upset

If I hold you close to me

We both calm down when we feel…two hearts in harmony.

And after all these years and all life’s changes

I’m still just as taken with your charms…

as I was the day when you were born

the day they put you in my arms.

As I was the day you began to crawl…

the day you began to walk…

The day you smiled at me with your eyes…

the day you began to talk…

And even though we’re not as together

as we once used to be

In quiet moments I still feel it…

don’t you?

two hearts in harmony.

RETURNING THE FAVOR

“What are you doing, son?” she asked after he began to carry her

when she was having trouble as they walked down by the sea?

“Just returning the favor,” Mom, he said, 

“for all those years…you carried me.”

MOM-ORIES

She’s no longer here…but I like to keep her near

because that’s what children do

So when I have the time…sometimes in poem…sometimes in rhyme

I like to relive a memory…or two

Like how she always found a way…at least a little every day

to be patient, kind-hearted…nice

How all the time that she was living she could be so darn forgiving

How she lived a life of love and sacrifice.

Like how she loved to read a book…boy how she could cook

How she was not afraid to weep

how she would at no time partake of that final piece of cake

and I always wondered…when did she find the time to sleep?

How she jumped at every chance…to sing, to laugh to dance

If there was a stain upon on the floor then she would clean it.

How when I’d berate her…or told her how I hate her

She knew deep in her heart…I didn’t mean it

How she bought my new clothes first…I never reimbursed

yet, somehow, she was never out of style

And what about those nights…when I’d wake up in a fright

how she could erase a bad dream with just her smile.

She treated my friends old or new like they were family too

She seemed to make the whole world bright

And when things started to look bad…when I was hurting…feeling sad

She brought color to my world of black and white.

How her impact never died…she continues today to guide

my heart, my soul, my world and how I view it.

I hope she understood there were…so many times that I looked up to her

but in my heart and soul…I’m pretty sure she knew it.

Despite the fact she’s gone…I could go on and on

and I will when I am by myself…alone

But I’m sure each one of you have your remembrances too

so I’ll leave room now…for memories of your own:

A NEW MOM'S PROMISE

As we sit alone together inside our hospital room

It was only but one day ago I held you in my womb.

And today although you’re still too young to fully understand

In what truly is a miracle…I’m holding you in my hands.

How fast we must adjust…adapt…how swiftly we rearrange

This is your first life lesson…how quickly life can change.

There will come a day you no longer fit inside my hands…but do not be too alarmed

because there will never come a time…you don’t fit inside my arms.

You see there’s something magical about a mother’s love…that all your life holds true

It doesn’t matter how big you grow…my love will grow with you.

So as I stare into your eyes today….I find it easy to admit

from my womb, to my hands, to my arms…you are a perfect fit

And I promise I will love you…and be captivated by your charms

as long as I am living…as long as you fit inside my arms.