I fear I haven’t learned the art of mothering yet,
have gathered no great pearls of wisdom to spill out
as gifts for your arrival. I’ve penned no lofty charge
to give you that could carry you bright-eyed and blameless
through the world that knocks, even now, impatient
on the walls of your hermitage. But I can tell you this:
beware the urge to answer its call in haste, my love.
Steep yet a while, safe beneath my heart – the world
will wait for you to knit cell to cell, build bone and tooth
and all the sticky filaments and sinews that bloom beneath
skin still translucent as the finest linen weave.
When it’s time to seek the air, you’ll know.
-~-~-~-~
And The Sunday Whirl (prompt words: art, bone, pearls, filaments, sticky, call, skin, air, linen, charge, beware, cell, knocks)
I have to say this delightful and sweet and charming; reminding me of so much.
Judging by that, I think you’ve learnt plenty!
A wonderful romantic way to start a life. To start any great adventure. Follow your heart, you are on the ‘write’ road.
This is gorgeous. What a wonderful poem. I think you should submit this to a journal.
Pamela
That is such a lovely poem. Very moving and sweet. Well done. I’m wiping a little tear away remembering how scared I was of messing up motherhood when I was expecting Jonathan. Sending your link to my daughter Kerstin, who has two little ones of her own. She will love to read this sweet poem.
Perhaps two people are becoming in this piece..I love the fragility and awareness but also the sense of knitting together..learning..becoming stronger as each day passes..maybe that never ends?
I love the way your words kindled memories of my time with babies.
beautiful
You brought back the hopes and fears I felt many years ago. Now I am preparing for my lovely daughter to leave the nest. Next year, she’ll head to college. This is a strong, honest write. Thank you.
This is beautiful and I hope you consider turning it into a piece of art, that your child will cherish. I read it and got lost for a bit, remembering a poem I wrote for my granddaughter. I love the awareness, tenderness, and reality within your words. Thank you for sharing them,
Elizabeth
http://soulsmusic.wordpress.com/
Nice meeting you & nice wordling; and thanks for visiting Poets United Poetry Pantry this week. Sometimes I wonder if anyone gets the art of mothering EXACTLY right. LOL.
This is beautiful. I especially felt these lines as a mother myself,
“beware the urge to answer its call in haste, my love.
Steep yet a while, safe beneath my heart – the world
will wait for you to knit cell to cell…”
Just lovely
Strangely beautiful. This is a wonderful poem.
This is so beautiful.
Very heartfelt and endearing words .. Loved this .
The last five lines are specially lovely ~ Great weaving of words and I like the title ~
Nice to meet you at D’verse~
nice…there is wisdom in that…biding time until just the right time…many things come if we just wait for that right time…pretty cool…being a dad, i am still figuring it out every day as well…smiles.
From “beware the urge” all the way down to especially that fantastic last line, this is just excellent. The whole thing, actually. But the second half really grabs me. You are already such a great mommy.
So delightful, there’s something so scary being a first time mum, you think somehow all will be revealed and you’ll know exactly what to say, do and be…but it’s in the learning…a wonderful honest poem that takes me back and that feeling is still so strong… all the best
I love the sensitivity of this…mothering, as I understand this, is a process…on-the-job training, if you will.
Oh, how I adore this piece. Pregnancy was sheer pleasure for me, and I recall that from long ago: My youngest is nearly 25! You remind me of the connection women share by virtue of our physical selves and the personal growth developed therein.
a wonderful moment
such a sweet poem! every day brings something new to learn in mothering!
Lovely. As a father, I can relate.
Richard
do you remember me? It’s She from She Became a Butterfly.
I had to shut down that site, but I still exist.
I’m reading through my journal and on 1/8/09 I received a bird necklace from you that said “Take these broken wing and learn to fly.” You said that you bought it spur of the moment, then knew it was me you were supposed to give it to. I just wanted to let you know that it meant the world to me then, and I’m glad that I have it recorded forever in my journal. You are a good soul, and a good mother, I know.