Happy Mother's Day

Cherry

By Jane Hyphen

Sun, 22 Mar 2020
  • 3413 reads
14 comments
 

 

Mother of dragons

The cat’s mother

The martyr who reminds

Us how it was so much harder 

The numb mother numbering

The days from when it started

And the grasp of the neverending

Tread carefully, mothers with spines

Mothers inside, doing time

Absent mothers, late mothers

Fathers who are also mothers

 

Aphids who are born mothers

Queen ants and Leghorn Layers

Holstein Friesian swollen udders

Step mothers, toxic mothers

Clingy, cloying, clawing mothers

Mothers far away, distant mothers

Glass-eyed, gaga in a wing-chair

Still your mother, not another

Happy mother’s day to mothers,

Would be mothers and those 

Born Into mother earth

From a father and another

 

Certificate U
Poem

Comments

Submitted by celticman on

I guess you covered all the bases, but mother's know best and what would your mother say? 

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Thanks celticman, and thank you for the cherries. She would either be defensive, dismissive or sarcastic.

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

this is horrible and great :

"The numb mother numbering

The days from when it started"

Thinking of the banks of pink bouquets in the supermarket this weekend, your poem makes clear the marketing flaw - one colour does not fit all!

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Ha ha, thanks Di_Hard, I hope you are well. It's all about worshipping motherhood, not mothering. Although some mothers will have their mothering skills (is patience a skill?) tested in the coming weeks I'm sure.

 

Submitted by onemorething on

This is brilliant. It has a great rhythm to it too and would sound good read aloud I imagine. :)

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Tahnks for your lovely comment onemorething. Mother is a great word to work a rhythm around, I can see why it works so well within the context of swearing.

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

I haven't been out to look this year, but at others, found so many of the 'Mother's Day cards' in the shops seemed to be artificial, and not realisitic for many of the ups and downs of family life.

My mother is no longer alive, and in Wales, 'Mother's Day' wasn't thought about much in those days, but she wouldn't have wanted anything too sugary, though our appreciation was real, My husband's home life was difficult growing up, and so I usually got him a nice card, just to write, 'Happy Mother's Day' in it. The care and love is there now, but no pretence about past difficulties.

Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Hi Rhiannon, thanks you for your interesting comment. I remember somebody told me that Mother's Day was mostly for girls who worked away in service to see their mothers occasionally. I don't know if this is true but you're right about there being no point in pretending relationships are all flowery and perfect, it's more about acknowledging a relationship.

 

Submitted by airyfairy on

At last - something sensible about Mother's Day!  It's always an ambivalent relationship.  Philip Larkin was completely right, but sometimes you learn to forgive your own and hope your kids will do the same for you.  I love the all-encompassing nature of this.  And yes, it would sound great read aloud.

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Thanks airyfairy. You are absoltely right, it's all abour forgiveness and acceptance.

 

Submitted by drew_gummerson on

A big old mother of a poem. Loved it. My mother signed off a text to me, yesterday, 'love you too, from cell 72 xxx' 

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Thanks for your comment drew. A mother who owns her imperfections is better than a mother who pretends she's perfect surely. 

 

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

I too echo the above, in thinking this would be a great poem read out loud.

Jenny.

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Thank you Jenny x