In Honor of Mom - Poem
March 14, 2013
In Honor of Mom - Poem

Dr. Laura,

I plan to join the Inner Circle and will tell you again your show has changed my life.

I wrote this poem in honor of Mom and I think it honors Motherhood. I went to take care of her out of state for three years and we lost her a year ago. My sisters and I experienced no end of sibling rivalry, competition, and anger both during her illness and death and the family is still not repaired. I'm still reeling a bit when I think of it.

Instead of quibbling over things or wishing DNA was the basis of family, I've emailed a copy of the poem to my sisters and am letting the negative ALL go.

My mother was abandoned when pregnant with my youngest sister and I know from watching that anything can be accomplished with enough faith, hope, and love.

I homeschooled my daughter and stayed home with her in the face of adverse circumstances.  She had a phrase she used to say about life circumstances: "in the hope of Mother-Loveness"

My hat is off to all mothers everywhere as Mother's Day approaches. I know I will be remembering mine, and you, Dr. Laura, who has become the surrogate for us all...

Carolyn


FAME

My Mother never did anything much,
But work and raise kids like mine
But wait--she was teacher and artist.
And mostly she was kind.

My Mother never did anything much
If it wasn't mostly for us.
She wanted to paint and she did some of that
But mostly she lived just thus.

My Mother never did anything much
But sew and smile and cook.
She understood that a lot of the time
We liked our nose in a book.

My Mother was granted a secret wish
For someone to give her Love.
Aren't the three little girls, with the three little curls
Still being watched from above?

If my Mother ever had any doubts about Life
She kept them to herself.
Like an unwelcome thing
that mattered not
In the back of a dusty shelf.

I'd like to be famous like Mother,
When children remember me.
My fame would rest in their memory
If half so famous as she!

My Mother made nothing quite so much
as the colors of Laughter and Song.
She traded her coin for the rustling of wings
--Angel wings, all day long.

- Carolyn Ratliff



Posted by Staff at 10:32 AM