Fresh Connections – The Parfitt Way Blog

Contributed By Christine St. Pierre

The day has come, the one we have set aside to express our gratitude and love for our mothers. Of course, every day is Mother’s Day, but, today especially, is when we show her how amazed and inspired and humbled we are by her. Purchasing a gift can do a lot of things, but anyone can buy anything. This year, write her something that expresses her importance. If she’s anything like my mother, she’ll say, “Oh, honey, your love is all I need on Mother’s Day,” which she probably believes—until she reads the incredible poem you wrote.

Many of you talented artists, thinkers, writers, do-ers already have Mother’s Day covered. I get that. You’ve made the breakfast, picked the flowers, planned the picnic, arranged the surprise, wrapped the gifts, called in the reservation. That doesn’t mean you’re done! A poem can be slipped behind her morning coffee mug, under her pillow, placed on her dashboard—are you writing these ideas down?

A poem tomorrow morning, next weekend, or next month will express your gratitude for her life’s work just the same as it will today. So, read the following poems that I wrote to generate some themes or ideas, and, if you’d like, you can use them as a template to which you can add your own memories and connections to the mothers in your life! Happy writing. And Happy Mother’s Day!

Poem 1:

To Every Mother

Who carried life inside her; who devoted her body to a child she loved unconditionally; who walked slowly, one arm resting on top of her round belly, the other cradling it tenderly: thank you.

To every mother who used her hand to wipe spit-up; who gets out the video camera instead of the cleaning supplies; who marks the door frame inch by inch, every year, as her little one grows into a six foot tall eating and sleeping machine: thank you.

To every mother whose wildest dream in life is to watch her child succeed in their own; who fights back tears when the old family car is loaded to the brim, headed out into the world; who thinks about her child every single moment of every single day: thank you.

To every mother: thank you.

Poem 2:

Sunflower Mother

I am
moss and mud eyes, depths unseen;
your reflection in the rippling river
beneath the forest canopy.

I am
veins, risen and pulsing
atop earth-soaked hands; the
wild mountain ranges,
fertile valleys,
barren deserts
stretched infinitely between us.

I am
warmth from the night’s fire;
my head pressed into your chest;
walking to the rhythm of your heartbeat
as I venture beyond, unafraid, alone.

But never alone
because

I am
loved and
surrounded by
you.