A Mother's Day of Poetry

There were years where I would drag my kids (two daughters, one son) on some sort of field trip come Mother's Day. And the result typically wasn't very fun unless it was the rare May 'summer' day and we made it to the beach.

But most outings proved disastrous. One year Mother's Day was spent weeding a brick patio after one horrendous outing. That tells you something.

So this year I decided to learn from the past and go with enjoying the day, in pajamas, and no gifts from the store.

I wanted poetry, I told them, and, of course, the requisite 24 hours of no fighting.

And poetry I got.

Incredible poetry that I had no idea lived inside each of them. So as any proud mother does I'm sharing and embarrassing them.

Each was told to write a different genre. (I know.. compulsive.. but I am an English major and writer.)

My youngest  daughter was given the haiku assignment.

Instead of writing just one, she wrote nine.

That told me I'm doing something right as a mother (over achiever is not a four-letter word in our house).

Here's one that zinged my heart:

To say she is strong,
Is to say doves simply fly,
No, they soar above.

And the one that brought tears:

Love, too simple a word
To describe our connection.
Yet, it's always meant.

My 11-year-old son, who puts writing in the same category as cleaning his room, watching Bridezilla and helping to clean out the garage, wrote a cuplet that proves, despite all my hen pecking, he knows I'm there when he needs me.

Simple, and graceful:

My mom is all so nice,
With her I never have to roll the dice.

My oldest daughter was asked to write an acrostic. It's the form that pre-schoolers typically write, so it was apropo that an 18-year-old take it on.

She didn't take the easy way out either ("Mom") but went the full "Mother" mile.

Marvelous..
Outstanding..
Tough...
Has the best hair..
Endless love
Really, simply the best.

As mothers, we always worry, especially in the quiet of the night, that we're not doing all that's needed, and that we could do better.

A little poetry, I learned today, eases those worries with just a few lines of well chosen words.

My mother would be proud.