Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Before We Know Their Names

flowers in a cap

I wrote this for a friend whose child was in the hospital, and somehow it seems like the perfect poem for Mother's Day...

Ours

We call them to the world
before we even know their names,
before we understand
what it will mean
to lean beside their beds
on breath-thin nights.
They teach us how
to hold their hands,
shut the lights,
pray for dawn.


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(Also sharing today with One Shot Wednesday.)

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22 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

a poem from a mother's heart.

11:26 AM  
Blogger Maureen said...

Beautiful, Laura.

1:09 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yes.

1:31 PM  
Blogger Glynn said...

I read this twice, and came away with two diferent meanings (Cairns would call that a good poem). It could be the mother teaching the child, or it could be the child teaching the mother. Good one, L.L.

5:15 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

a very beautiful Mother's day piece!

5:38 PM  
Blogger dustus said...

Very touching poem. A deep tribute to the mother-child bond.

5:38 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Glynn made a beautiful point for when I first read this it spoke to me as the child guiding me. I so remember the feelings your writing evoked when my son was in the NICU. Thank you for sharing.

5:52 PM  
Blogger Brian Miller said...

smiles. i learn so much from my little ones...this was lovely.

6:00 PM  
Anonymous HisFireFly said...

"breath thin nights"

love this...

6:35 PM  
Blogger Linda said...

Yes L.L. - perfect for Mother's Day.

7:41 PM  
Anonymous Chris G. said...

Sweet and sad, a touching piece all too appropriate for a mother's longing heart. Beautiful dedication to the bond of mother and child.

8:16 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This poem touched my tender spot. Both of my children are struggling with physical illnesses and my nights fill with thin air and prayer. Thank you!

9:17 PM  
Blogger Sonika Uppal said...

they are my dawn...thank u for sharing

3:24 AM  
Blogger John (@bookdreamer) said...

and to the end shall we learn

4:27 AM  
Blogger Apryl Gonzales said...

You have beautifully captured the heart of a mother, well done!

7:46 AM  
Blogger Louise Gallagher said...

Truly beautiful Laura -- the the light on the dish in the photo is exquisite.

and... I think it goes both ways. The mother teaches the child and the child always teaches the mother.

8:53 AM  
Blogger S and J said...

'before we know their names' and 'breath thin nights' - the soul of motherhood.
Very thoughtful as well as thought provoking. I am still pondering the idea of calling them forth...lovely

10:44 AM  
Blogger David Rupert said...

I look at the women pushing stroller or belly-full-of-life walking and I pray for them...such a responsibility!

12:40 PM  
Blogger Laura said...

so beautiful! love this phrase "on breath-thin nights."...having spent two weeks in the hospital with my daughter a few years ago I could really relate to this well.

12:58 PM  
Blogger Laura said...

just posted up on the TS Poetry wall:-)

1:14 PM  
Anonymous Joe Hesch said...

Those of us with asthmatic children understand the torture of sitting, powerless, with them until dawn on those "breath thin nights."
Such a beautiful distillization of parenthood.
Thank you.

2:43 PM  
Blogger Jannie Funster said...

Oh man, this brought the tears up immediately for me.

Mine has taught me all.

6:29 PM  

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