Mother’s Poems

For most people, their ‘mom’ is truly someone who has a special place in their hearts. Not only was she the one who brought us into the world, but also the one who probably cared for us, changed our diapers, fed us, nursed us, comforted us, and watched over us as we slept. Such a caring individual deserves something special like a poem which expresses our appreciation for her countless hours of care. Mother’s poems can be about new mothers, celebrating the birth of their first child, mothers who have recently gone through a major change in life (such as when the youngest child leaves home), or on that special day, celebrated in much of the world, Mother’s Day.

One English poet who penned a very charming poem about her mother was Christina Rossetti. She was a avid writer of romantic poetry, along with devotional pieces and poems for children. She is probably best known for her love poem, Remember, the epic poem Goblin Market, and her words for the Christmas hymn, Bleak Midwinter. Her very first poem, however, was for her mother. Rossetti spent much of her childhood and early life working and living closely to her mother. The two started a small school together and worked diligently to keep it going for several years.

To My Mother
by Christina Rossetti

In several previous articles, we looked at the sad life of Edgar Allan Poe. Although he lost his own mother very early in life, he became very attached to the woman who was to become is mother in law. I find it interesting to see how Poe dealt with the obvious disparity in the roles of his mother and mother in law. Poe had also been quite close to Mrs. Allan, the woman who took Poe into her family’s home after was orphaned, but she passed away when he was in college — leaving him once again as an ‘orphan’. This particular poem was entitled Mother, even though it was actually written for his mother in law.

Mother
by Edgar Allan Poe

More poems have probably been written to mothers during the American holiday of Mother’s Day. Several other countries have adopted this day to celebrate mothers, while others have modified other celebrations during which mothers are celebrated — such as Great Britain’s Mothering Sunday. The holiday in the United States began in Boston in 1870 by Julia Ward Howe. It’s original purpose was to encourage women to disarm and become pacifists. One early activity which became quite common was to organize women’s groups composed of mothers who had lost sons on both sides of the American Civil War. Since then, the holiday has changed, to include any woman who is a mother, with an emphasis on celebrating the role that mother’s have in our lives, and celebrating the occasion with special meals, outings, and, of course, heartfelt poems and gifts. This last poem was written by Jane Taylor, who wrote the immortal words to the song, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, back in 1806 when she was 23 years old and living in Lavenham, Suffolk, England.

My Mother
by Jane Taylor