ANOTHER POEM THAT REMINDS OF MY MUM

Is it because Mother's Day is celebrated this month? Perhaps that is why my adoptive mum has been on my mind more than usual and she is never far away from my thoughts even though she died 25 years ago.

I guess she was larger than life in many ways and quite often a force to be reckoned with and I know she always did what she thought was right for me. I found another poem that made me think of her again. She and dad both loved to read and though we lived on a fairly isolated farm near Narrikup siding (to those of you that don't know Narrikup is a few miles north of Albany in WA's south) mum made sure I did correspondence lessons so that I learned not only to colour in very well but also to learn simple poems and to read and write.

Mum herself was well educated and spoke with what they call an "Oxford accent". I often think she was not all that keen on my Aussie accent!! I have changed the tense in this poem to past tense though it was written in the present tense. It is obvious why I did this.

Once again this poem is by Anna Hempstead Branch and is called

HER WORDS

My mother had the prettiest tricks
Of words and words and words.
Her talk came out as smooth and sleek
As breasts of singing birds.

She shaped her speech all silver fine
Because she loved it so.
And her own eyes began to shine
To hear her stories grow.

And if she went to make a call
Or out to take a walk
We left our work when she returned
And ran to hear her talk.

We had not dreamed these things were so
Of sorrow and of mirth.
Her speech was as a thousand eyes
Through which we could see the earth.

God wove a web of loveliness
Of clouds and stars and birds,
But made not any thing at all
So beautiful as words.

They shine around our simple earth
With golden shadowings,
And every common thing they touch
Is exquisite with wings.

There's nothing poor and nothing small
But is made fair with them.
They are the hands of iving faith
That touch the garment's hem.

They are as fai
r as bloom or air,
They shine like any star,
And I am rich who learned from her
How beautiful they are.

Thanks Mum for giving me the love of books and of words. I may not be as eloquent as you were but I try my best and I still love to read.

I to do hope that anyone who may read this will appreciate this lovely poem. If you do then please tell me what you think of it. I do love to share the love of words.