As Mother’s Day approaches, I. have been thinking a lot about my mom, Vivian, who died at the age of 91, almost ten years ago. She was a dress designer, seamstress, artist, and teacher. What I didn’t know until this week, was that she was a poet. Poetry was my father’s realm, so I guess she kept her poetry writing private.
My cousin’s daughter has been doing research recently on our family, and she found a newspaper clipping of a poem of my mother’s that was published in her local newspaper in 1953. She was 31 years old at the time and had a one-year-old daughter, my sister Vivian. Ever since I read my mom’s poem, I’ve been imagining her as a young wife and mother and the hope she had which she imbued in her poem, “Summer’s Coming.” It comforts me now and gives me renewed hope.
This week, the Kindergarten students at my school are busy learning to recite a spring poem I wrote several years ago called “Awaken the Peas.” As I listened to the children recite my poem, I realized how similar it is to my mother’s summer poem.
There is so much my mother has given me, and I’m learning more and more about her after her death. I often refer to her as “my first teacher,” and she continues to leave me lessons. I hope she knows that I am listening and will continue to listen until my final winter comes.
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!
Word Dancer: Literature, the Arts, & Education 
I’ve read so many beautiful slices today, and this is another. It’s magical how the relationship with your mother continues to evolve and endure. I love how your concluding sentence ties back into the seasons. This is truly what life is about.
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What a wonderful gift your cousin’s daughter gave you. Both poems are beautiful. I hope you continue to enjoy the “lessons” your mom is sending you.
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What a wonderful discovery! My father died a year ago and he was an artist and writer. I have his writing in a book he published, and a box that I haven’t gone through yet. Our parents plant the seeds in us for who we are and who we become. Always there.
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Margaret – I bought the book you wrote with your dad’s illustrations a couple of years ago. It is a beautiful book. He was a talented artist. I’m finding out that our parents never leave us. They just connect with us in new ways.
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What a beautiful poem. I love the personification she used. What a gift to find out your mother was a poet and know that you share that love of words.
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Beautiful my friend! Mother and daughter.
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How lovely! This brings a huge smile and a warm heart. It makes me think of the Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole duet (with her late father). I love how the lines of the poems mirror, and I couldn’t help imagining them interspersed – a line of yours, a line of hers, a line of yours, a line of hers. Such beauty all wrapped up in this post today!
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Joanne, there are so many wonderful lines in this mother-daughter pair of poems. I love that you discovered this poem just this week. What a surprising and heartening treasure that was uncovered.
I love the lines: “Tell each raindrop to kiss their heads” and “Just down the road in her waiting place.” Magic happens in each of these lines. Thanks for sharing, Joanne.
It seems our moms were the same age. My mom died when she was 88. She would be 101 now. Blessings to you.
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What a lovely discovery and so fun that your cousin’s daughter shared it with you. I like how “Summer’s Coming” helps you imagine your mom at a different stage of life. It’s a gift that their presence continues to influence us even after death.
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