Thursday, November 11, 2010

Obelisk Moon

[image from flickr.com]

[I am posting this in response to Poets United Thursday Think Tank prompt: Family. I wrote it some years ago the night before Mother's Day. I am happy to report all are doing very well now. But when it comes to a poem about family, this was ours at one time. We loved our way through to calmer seas. I now understand an obelisk is a tower, not this pregnant-shaped moon. But I love the sound of it, so will leave it be.]

Obelisk moon
suspended in the sky
like a seven-months
pregnant woman
gliding by,
four times I sailed
proud and serene
like you,
small voyagers
aswim in a sea of dreams
all safe within.
I tacked and drifted,
set the mainsail fast
those sunny days
we thought would
for forever last.

How I dreamed
such simple dreams
of happiness:
the future
such a whole
and shining thing
life's songs
all waiting there
for them to sing
joyously
like laughing lovers
in the sun
and be happier than I
when I was young.

Now one son laughs
and lives his life
and one son weeps
in a maze from which
he cannot
find his way.
One daughter struggles
but goes on,
one daughter sweeps
from depth to wave-peak
in a single day
four small precarious
passengers
hanging on
without the chance
to choose
to a mother
not completely here
they are afraid
to lose.

And I?
My heart still sails
through seas sublime
my compass pointed
firmly towards
a hope
that I would keep
but all the time
a nightwatchman
lives on board
who never sleeps
and I wait
for that call
that knock in the night
to sound again
that is my world
come crashing down
in pain.

My heart lives now
four other hearts
inside.
Their journeys
become
my journey
and it is
a bumpy ride.

32 mother's days
sailing by so fast
on this sea of hope
where nothing ever lasts
days of unbearable beauty
unbearable sorrow
the best gift:
my children,
all alive
tomorrow.

17 comments:

  1. Lovely poem -sad but reflecting a good mother's feelings. Our children certainly do strain our emotions don't they?

    ReplyDelete
  2. A gentle, honest poem about the odd mix of sorrow and joy motherhood introduces us to. Our hearts get bigger, break more often...and we don't regret the jouney for a minute...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Really liked this one - engaging and powerful.

    Blessings to you and your four.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Packs quite a punch. I think this will resonate with any parent, mother or father. Lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is motherhood in a nutshell, all it's joy and sorrow...lovely piece Sherry...bkm

    ReplyDelete
  6. Seems no family is without its joys and sorrows, or different ways of dealing with life. Mothers, well, they have that inherent need to keep all together. It's not easy...

    Lovely poem.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is just my second read for tonight and my eyes swell with tears, as I read an article with the same theme.. About mothers. My mom died November last year and I wasn't even there on her final moments.

    This piece well defines the essence of a mother.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Beautiful Sherry.
    The love of a mother and the concern for the children- you have portrayed beautifully..
    I love the lines
    "My heart lives now
    four other hearts
    inside.
    Their journeys
    become
    my journey
    and it is
    a bumpy ride."

    ReplyDelete
  9. Lovely poem, as others have said. Sorrows oftentimes lead to joys, though it may take a while!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Dear Sherry,
    You have really done it this week.
    This is a real tear-jerker, but of the reality which most mothers will empathize with.
    I loved the sheer honesty and more than that it abounds with such love.
    Thank you Sherry for sharing this very powerful piece of writing.
    Best wishes, Eileen :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. 32 mother's days
    sailing by so fast
    on this sea of hope
    where nothing ever lasts
    days of unbearable beauty
    unbearable sorrow
    the best gift:
    my children,
    all alive
    tomorrow.

    hope is unkillable.
    glad that kids are alive in the end despite everything happened.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Children can bring both joy AND sorrow, but they are a wonderful blessing despite the sometimes occuring bumps! Very nice write!

    ReplyDelete
  13. 32 Mother's Day...This was a powerful piece. There was rhythm to it like a great song. Meaningful, for sure.

    ReplyDelete
  14. This is so beautiful, and I totally relate. I remember thinking, one day they'll all be grown, and I can stop worrying. As you well know, the worry never ends, as I've learned the hard way.

    ReplyDelete
  15. your poem touched my heart, sherry. motherhood is indeed God's greatest gift to women. we live for our kids. if not for them, we would have given up a long, long time ago. we draw our strength from them.

    "My heart still sails
    through seas sublime..."
    i can relate to that, sherry.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for visiting. I appreciate it and will return your visit soon.