Photography by David Nam Lip Lee
Image Source
Linking with The Sunday Muse for Muse #43
and Poets United for Poetry Pantry # 440
Come join us!
Linking with The Sunday Muse for Muse #43
and Poets United for Poetry Pantry # 440
Come join us!
Mothers are the gardeners of the human race. ~Anna A. Rogers
If we lose our mother young
we search our whole life for her
in the faces of strangers
in the arms of those we hold dear
all the roads we take
lead to questions
we never ask
the silence of the unknowing
becomes the song we always sing
yet somewhere in the place
of holding on and letting go
we find
that she is all around us
in the void there is an outpouring
that fills up some of the empty places
women have a way of nurturing
the lost child
like the lioness in the pride
will care for another's young
the motherless child
will grow up
and one day
look back
and realize
they found many mothers
God provides one way or another
and that is the answer
to the questions
of a lost child.
If we lose our mother young
we search our whole life for her
in the faces of strangers
in the arms of those we hold dear
all the roads we take
lead to questions
we never ask
the silence of the unknowing
becomes the song we always sing
yet somewhere in the place
of holding on and letting go
we find
that she is all around us
in the void there is an outpouring
that fills up some of the empty places
women have a way of nurturing
the lost child
like the lioness in the pride
will care for another's young
the motherless child
will grow up
and one day
look back
and realize
they found many mothers
God provides one way or another
and that is the answer
to the questions
of a lost child.
©Carrie Van Horn 2019
I recently watched a documentary about the first and second world war... it's amazing how many children that were left without father and mother... these children are all alone us still (aging) there must have been many caring for them...
ReplyDeleteThis is incredibly touching and beautiful, Carrie. So true.
ReplyDeleteCarrie, this is a masterpiece. I love that the motherless child finds mothers and love all around, as they grow. So beautiful. I love it. Wish I had written it.
ReplyDeleteI lost my mother recently. I miss her every day. It us hard being an orphan. A grand poem. I will not use the overused word evocative. But this poem is so telling of tragedy in its most desolate kind.
ReplyDeleteIntriguing photo .A motherless child is a heartbreaking situation.I agree mothers are the gardeners ad the nurturers. Lovely poem.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful and wise and wonderfully rendered. Awesome writing, Carrie.
ReplyDeleteall the roads we take
ReplyDeletelead to questions
we never ask... beautifully said..
The caregiver we hold most dear when we are younger certainly becomes part of our being, a light to be kept, to be found if lost, a beacon that never dims...
ReplyDeleteIt is heartbreaking to think of children searching for mothers ‘in the faces of strangers’ and ‘in the arms of those we hold dear’. But you are right, Mother Nature lives in the hearts and souls of women, as you say, who:
ReplyDelete‘…have a way of nurturing
the lost child
like the lioness in the pride
will care for another's young’.
I’m currently reading a book set in the Netherlands in WW2, about a child who was passed from home to home, mother to mother, to keep her safe from the Nazis and she didn’t even know that her parents were dead.
This is an incredibly raw, poignant and heart-stirring write, Carrie!
ReplyDeleteThe beauty of community living is the protection factor. A motherless child will be taken care of and not left to fend for himself. Very touching Carrie!
ReplyDeleteHank
It is such a comforting thought that the maternal love and care is still there in the form of different faces and places. It indeed takes a village for nurturing and caring. Such a lovely verse!
ReplyDeleteThank goodness for the loving elders, both blood related and not, who make some space in their hearts for those who need it.
ReplyDeleteI'm hearing 'sometimes I feel like a motherless child' in my head. It all feels like a dream, having a mother. Even when she was there I feel part of her was lost to me. But yes, mother can be universal. Thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteI so agree with Cooleens comment. The goodness of Mother nature, the universality of caring snd nuturing
ReplyDeleteA grand poem Carrie. Happy you dropped by my sumie Sunday
Much💛love
That theme of one being part of a long line of people stretching into the ancient past was one which grabbed me too... Very nicely done and thanks for the prompt!
ReplyDeleteCarrie, your words are so true and very touching. As you stated God will provide many mothers one way or another. Heartfelt!
ReplyDeleteYou give that lost child a life, and hope. A heart-warming poem, Carrie.
ReplyDeleteMy first comment seems to have gone astray:
ReplyDeleteLoved the approach, Carrie, and that orphaned children can be loved by others . . . beautifully penned . . :)