Mother’s Day
Edmond, OK
2016, Senior, Poetry & Spoken Word
Each time great mountains steal my breath
Or I am hugged by morning sun
I praise my Mother and my Earth
For they take the place of one
Hand in hand since one’s first breath
She’ll provide until the end
The greatest giver of all time
For which we all depend
To her I am one of many
Occupying land and air and sea
But despite her numerous children
She maintains great harmony
Her eyes are crystalline oceans
Warming sun is her sweet caress
I have soothed myself in her rivers of hair
And the plains that make her chest
She holds my hand and leads me
Always knowing where I need be
From daring adventures in sweeping rapids
To the calm of the evening sea
But for all that she has given
Our greed still knows no end
And recently I was reminded of
These scars we cannot mend
One day I gazed in my Mother’s eyes
And something was out of place
There a small cloud of darkness
Had marred her beautiful face
This ugly mark upon her beauty
Filled me with disgust and dismay
However when I tried to enquire
The words I could not say
For unknown reasons in that moment
I thought ignorance was best
So I hushed all of my concerns
And laid against her chest
But as time wore one I came to find
The mark had still sustained
As more and more began to join it
Less beauty now remained
More and more she began to lose
To the growing darkened stains
Her breathing and mobility
Were now labored from great pains
I learned the names of those leeches
Draining life from Mother’s face
They were oil spills which we created
Humanity’s disgrace
This heavy revelation
Still pains me to this day
That children such as myself
Could harm her in this way
Every day more calming blue seeps
Slowly from her eyes
Still many plug their ears and try
To avoid her mournful cries
She still attempts to provide
Despite her weakened state
Though she can only now give half as much
While meeting grizzly fate
She knows where she is headed
If we cannot change our ways
Yet she stays powerless
To extend her last few days
And while their mother slowly dies
Many children stay unawares
Scoffing from their mighty thrones
And politician’s chairs
They seem to think that black spots
Help humanity to thrive
But do they realize as orphans
None of us survive
And I know I’m not the only one
Upset by Mother’s pains
But could our efforts be enough
To erase all of the stains
It seems for every spot erased
More still pop up fast
And I’m terrified to even think
Next Mother’s day is the last
Reflection
Reflection
For me the choice to personify Mother Earth as an actual human mother came naturally because of the clear parallels. Both human mothers and the planet are givers with a premiere goal being to nurture generations of new life. I hope that this personification will give a new angle on environmental issues and cause people to think seriously about conservation since we are so receptive to the pain of fellow humans, especially that of nurturing types such as mothers.
As for the writing style, I chose to rhyme because rhythm and rhyme have always been the parts of poetry that come most naturally to me. I enjoy the sense of structure and direction a set pattern lends to my writing. I also find rhyming poems to have a greater appeal to a general audience which is something to strive for in a poem meant to inspire action.