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Featured Poem: Mother’s Day Selection

Written by Lisa Spurgin, 11th March 2013

Yesterday was Mothering Sunday, or Mother's Day as it's more commonly known, and we're sure that mums in every form were thoroughly spoiled on their special day. However, if for whatever reason the thought slipped your mind, or if you simply want to continue to show your appreciation for your mum past the day (and why not - they deserve to be pampered all year round), then why not share these special poems with her? Because surely, reading together is a gift that's more enjoyable, longer lasting and meaningful than chocolates, balloons or flowers.

Mother o' Mine - Rudyard Kipling
A simple poem demonstrating one of the least simple things in the world - the unconditional measure and comforting presence of a mother's love, no matter how hard times may get.

Sonnets are Full of Love - Christina Rossetti
This sonnet, a dedication at the beginning  of Rossetti's collection A Pageant and Other Poems, is written for her 'first love', her mother, whose love she wants to honour through her poetic work: 'And so because you love me, and because
I love you, Mother/I have woven a wreath/Of rhymes wherewith to crown your honored name.'

Before the Birth of One of Her Children - Anne Bradstreet
Bringing children into the world is one of the most remarkable - and intimidating - feats that a woman can achieve. This poem, told from the perspective of a mother who is uncertain that she will make it through to meet her child, captures the varying emotions of fear, dread, anticipation, hope and love that accompany the momentous event.

To My Mother - Edgar Allen Poe
Those this is entitled 'To My Mother', Poe seems to be in fact talking to his mother-in-law: 'but you Are mother to the one I loved so dearly,/And thus are dearer than the mother I knew/By that infinity with which my wife/Was dearer to my soul than its soul-life' - demonstrating that we have more than one mother throughout our lives, each one dear to us in their own way.

Mother and Poet - Elizabeth Barrett Browning
'What art can a woman be good at?', Browning asks in this deeply moving poem, about Laura Savio, of Turin, a poetess and patriot, whose two sons were killed at Ancona and Gaeta.

The Grandmother - Lord Alfred Tennyson
Grandmothers have lots of stories to tell - and this is a poignant reminiscence of a life nearing its end, and those who have been in, and are now distant from it.

The Player Queen - W.B. Yeats
Because surely, all mothers, are as noble and brilliant as queens to each of us...and this one has grand hopes for her child.

The Mother - Lucy Maud Montgomery
A new mother gazing in wide-eyed wonder at her child and wondering what will be of him in the future - something both hopeful and fearful, a notion any mother can identify with, whether her children are new babies or long grown up.

2 thoughts on “Featured Poem: Mother’s Day Selection

Ann Creber says:

Hello, lovely selection.. but we don¹t celebrate Mothers¹ Day in Australia until May, so I¹ll save these poems. Is your Lucy Montgomery the beloved LM Montgomery of Anne, Emily etc?

Best regards, Ann

Ann Creber Producer/Presenter of The Good Life on 3MDR 41-45 Barbers Road Kalorama 3766

Lisa says:

Hi Ann,

Glad you enjoyed the selection, and let us know how they go down when Mother’s Day rolls around in Australia! Of course, they can also be used to appreciate mums of all kinds on any day of the year.

Yes, Lucy is one and the same as L.M Montgomery!

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