Mother

You are stronger

Than the bay that is beaten

All day and all night, you

Are cleaner and brighter than

The cool fragments of matter

That cake round our toes,

Softly absorbing their heat.

 

You are wiser

Than the ache of oak creaking

As the bark is baked, you

Are livelier at heart than

The leaves that crackle round

The edges of the hazels,

Crisping autumn into nuts.

 

You are kinder

Than the caves that are hidden

Away from cats who play catch,

Safe nesting for runny eggs

Impatient to hatch wet wings,

Your ledges echo with the

Quiet drop of Peace on stone.

 

You are better

Than the ravens at keeping

Watch lifelong through the

Woe and the weather, the

Sheets of fog and the pain, your

Sweet call is the plain truth

That feeds hope through to your young.

 

Thank you.