Poetry Girl Sunday #9

This post is dedicated to my own mother--Virginia, a.k.a. "Ginny"

Of all the lovely poems about mothers, this is perhaps, my most cherished.  It was written by May Sarton to her mother, near the end of May's life.  It becomes more moving with each reading.  Happy Mother's Day sweet creators.

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For My Mother
     August 3, 1992

Once more
I summon you
Out of the past
With poignant love,
You who nourished the poet
And the lover.
I see your gray eyes
Looking out to sea
In those Rockport summers,
Keeping a distance
Within the closeness
Which was never intrusive
Opening out
Into the world.
And what I remember
Is how we laughed
Till we cried
Swept into merriment
Especially when times were hard.
And what I remember
Is how you never stopped creating
And how people sent me
Dresses you had designed
With rich embroidery
In brilliant colors
Because they could not bear
To give them away
Or cast them aside.
I summon you now
Not to think of
The ceaseless battle
With pain and ill-health,
The frailty and the anguish.
No, today I remember
The creator,
The lion-hearted.

                    May Sarton
                    1912-1995

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May Sarton biography--POETS.org

May Sarton biography--The Poetry Foundation