What Makes a Good Mother?

Written by: Jorinde Berben
Image credit: Jorinde Berben

Today is Mother’s Day. It was a beautiful, warm and sunny day. The first real summer day that was also filled with family, good food and lots of love.

For my post today, I’m not sharing my views or ideas, but rather my feelings in the form of a poem. You can read it here, or listen to me reading it by clicking here.

A good mother…

A good mother is sweet and gentle
Like a blanket in winter she wraps herself
Around her children, like a devoted
pilgrim
Yet at the same time she is strong, resilient
The shield that guards, the sword that will cut
through a trillion
threats if kept
unchecked

A good mother listens
To the voice within
To her instincts, her beliefs, her nature
so she can nurture beyond a future she never envisioned
for herself
Yet she will question, choose introspection
with each choice that proved
a transgression of that self
she will always
question herself

A good mother will let her children play
go wild, go free, run and chase
find ways to explore the space she yet
also, tries to keep safe for them
by building walls
for them
to run into so they can fall
back into the embrace
they faced
with their very first breath

A good mother worries, often, actually all the time
While she tries to let go of the control that
pushes away the one thing she’s afraid to let go of
The one thing she’s afraid to not have a hold of
The love she feels
the love she breathes
the love, she needs
the love she keeps
the love
only, only
only
for them

Happy Mother’s Day my dears!