Happy Poetry Friday!
I’m starting my celebration of Mother’s Day today, with a socially conscious Mother’s Day Poem! Breathe in some action, take a few flowers, and celebrate all Mom’s in a marvelous way!
Give Flowers,
Flowers for mothers
Flowers for mentors
Mentors whose voices
have cried out for justice
Vincent Millay, Levertov,
Angelou, Brooks,
Ukraine Mothers
burying their sons…
Pink and purple,
passion filled colors,
Blazing sunflowers,
stir our hearts,
Candid coneflowers
ooze ochre truths,
Climate change greens
sequestering carbon
intertwine thoughts
and generate action
with Mother of Nature
nurture, protector, with
Mother of Suffrage,
of 1960s
who bodily fought
for our
bodies
rights.
Flowers
for mothers
Petals of love,
pass through
generations
Flowers
For
Mothers
© 2022 Michelle Kogan
Here’s part of a conversation Maya Angelou had with her mother, from the Article, Maya Angelou on Mothers, ABC News, Aril 29, 2008.
“When Angelou was 21 and a young mother, she was holding down two jobs and living on her own. One day, she went to her mother’s house and received some unexpected praise.
“She looked at me and she said, ‘Baby, you know at this minute I want to tell you something.’ She has fox furs on, silver fox furs, and diamond earrings,” Angelou said. “She said, ‘I think you’re the greatest woman I’ve ever met.’ She said, ‘There is of course Eleanor Roosevelt, Mary McLeod Bethune, and my mother. But you’re in that category.'”
“And I thought, ‘Suppose she’s right? Suppose I really am somebody?’ She used to say she was too mean to lie. And she was very intelligent. But maybe it’s about time for me to stop smoking and stop cursing, ’cause I may be somebody.”
Angelou was working on a cable car at the time, and was far from the famous woman she would become, but her mother’s words gave her a sense of her future.
“I have learned enough now, to know I have learned nearly nothing,” she read in another excerpt from her new book. “Only stay when mothers are being honored. Let me thank you, that my selfishness, ignorance and mockery did not bring you to describe me like a broken doll, which had lost its favor. I thank you that you still find something in me to cherish, to admire and to love.”
“I thank you, mother. I love you.”
Read the entire article here.
I took a lovely walk over to one of our treasure-filled parks, and it sure looks like spring even with our chilly temps…
Hope you can get lost in nature for a bit this week…
🌸 Happy Mother’s Day to all Mom’s! 🌷
(including humans, flora & fauna)
Jama Rattigan at her blog Jama’s Alphabet Soup is our delectable host for this week’s Poetry Friday Round up, thanks Jama! She’s served up a scrumptious post including a Mother’s Day recipe poem by Anita Pulier, along with some mouth watering treats, so be sure to stop by and fill up with poetry!
Michelle Kogan Illustration, Painting, & Writing 
We have been slow this spring but redbuds, finally, are out. Yes, like your beautiful peach blossom & your poignant poem so honoring mothers for Mother’s Day, it has to be spring! Don’t you love “But you’re in that category.” Thanks, Michelle!
Yes, she’s/was terrific, I continue to return to her words! Thanks Linda.
I have been walking too, greeting the green leaves and noticing flowers. What a wonderful interview of Angelou. Her wisdom is timeless. ‘Maybe I could be somebody.’ That’s the thought I’m going to carry into my day and my weekend…maybe I can instill that in someone else: my children, students, friends. What a gift to give.
I admire your altruistic response Linda—Angelou is/was wonderful!
Thank you for honoring Mother Nature and the Mothers of the Women’s Rights movement(s) in your poem! I love these lines, and will read them to my (many, wild) coneflowers as they grow:
“Candid coneflowers
ooze ochre truths”
What a beautiful post, Michelle. Love your gorgeous watercolor, poem, and flower photos. Just perfect for this weekend. The Maya Angelou quote was touching and inspirational. Thanks for all!
Michelle, your poems and watercolors are always so lovely. I enjoyed the Maya Angelou piece too!
Those peach flowers are so lovely — I just used my plant ID app on your photo and it said they were Japanese flowering quince. The blue ones look like Virginia bluebells to me. Loved your poem, painting, and Maya Angelou food-for-thought.
Your poem moves seamlessly through contrasting floral thoughts, Michelle. It has such a lovely build and flow. And your painting is a bounty of beauty.
Your poem ties together all that already lies together: mothers, mentors, nature. I love these lines especially:
“Candid coneflowers
ooze ochre truths,”
Enjoy your weekend!
Happy Mother’s Day to you! Those flowers are blooming just in time for a celebration: Flowers for Mothers, mentors and all.
Michelle, thank you for the link to the Diane Sawyer interview. I especially liked this line,
Love affords you the ability to be courageous.” Your tribute to mothers of humans, flora & fauna is worth reading several times as I did. I love the way you painted the peach flowers-so vibrant with life. Thanks for a socially-conscious post. Enjoy your Mother’s Day.
A bouquet of goodness as always, Michelle. Maya Angelou is an inspiration. Happy Mother’s Day! 🙂
What a beautiful bouquet you’ve offered us all on this Mother’s Day, Michelle. I especially love the words you shared from Maya Angelou. What a gift her mother gave to her…and to us. Have a wonderful Mother’s Day!