A Mother's Love
A mother’s love is all-consuming
A mother’s love is unconditional
A mother’s love is overwhelming
A mother’s love is all-forgiving
From infant to adult,
Their journey flies by
With the blink of an eye.
She tried hard to slow it,
Before the goodbyes.
The ties of her apron were cut,
And the small hand in hers
Became just a dot
In the depths of her memory,
where she kept them all hidden.
Chatter that filled
The air that she breathed,
Replaced now with silence
From which she felt grief.
The house had energy
And heaved from the strain.
From days filled with parties
And play when it rained.
They built dens in cupboards
And under the stairs.
They made buses from cardboard
With cushions for chairs.
Cabbages and carrots
From salt dough and paint
Filled a small shop
Where an eager child waits.
Paying for goods
In a small paper bag
With imaginary money
They thought they once had.
She sits by the window and
Pictures them playing
Speaking words of encouragement
Praising them, saying,
'How clever you are; keep on pedalling, my darlings.'
But the past is the past
The toys now lay idle,
And the chatter from children
Is her song with the title,
‘A love song for mothers to the children they love,'
Placing boxes on shelves,
She sees small smiling faces
From days by the sea
With squeals of excitement.
Precious memories to treasure
Of days on the sand
With buckets and spades
Tightly held in their hands.
Drawings and objects
With dabs of red paint,
Handing them over
With smiles as they wait
For praise from their mother.
Although for her,
It was never a chore.
But a joy of life's little pleasures,
From her girl and her boys.
To have and to keep for the future,
She will open the box as their parent and tutor.
Her thoughts will return
To a house full of laughter
And days filled with joy
When they called her their mother.
Belinda Rose Bond 2024
