In Praise of Mama

My sweet mama died years ago. Even so, I think of her many times each day, especially on her birthday (September 24th). Although I can no longer visit her or give her a gift or even call to chat a bit, I yearn to honor her in some way.

As I thought about what I could do, a familiar verse (Proverbs 31:28) from the Old Testament came to mind. Although the words stored in my memory are from the King James Version (the translation Mama and Daddy used), I also like the words from modern versions that express how I want to honor Mama on her birthday. For example, 

Therefore, I want to use written and spoken words to say I do love Mama, and that I thank God for choosing her to be my mama.

Although she wasn't financially well-off like the woman described in Proverbs 31, Mama did many of the same kinds of tasks she did. For example, she got up early every morning to cook a hot, country-style breakfast on the wood-burning cookstove. She took good care of our family and the farm animals and the garden that provided much of our food.

Mama didn't weave and spin like the Proverbs 31 woman did, but she sewed pretty dresses for my sister and me whenever she had enough money to buy fabric and buttons and lace. She also made beautiful quilts from scraps of outgrown clothes and fabric leftover from sewing projects so that we could stay as warm as possible on cold winter nights in our drafty, uninsulated house that was heated by the living room fireplace. Her stitches were so even and tiny that some folks thought they'd been done on a sewing machine.

Like the Proverbs 31 woman, Mama spoke words of wisdom and was kind to everyone. She had a gentle and quiet spirit and bravely accepted each hardship without complaining.

For these reasons and for the innumerable other ways she showed her love day after day and year by year, I want to take this opportunity to publically praise her and to say, "Mama, you are still much loved, much cherished. Although you are gone from my sight, you'll always remain on my mind and in my heart."

Learning the Lessons

In her book, Write a Poem, Save Your Life: A Guide for Teens, Teachers, and Writers of All Ages, Meredith Heller says, “We can find poetry everywhere, if we know how to look and how to listen. Poetry lives in the simplest things, in the is-ness of an object, in the relationship between people, in nature, in light and shadow…” (p.87). 

As soon as I read those words, I thought, She’s right! And I can prove it. For example:

A week ago,  my writing accountability partner and I challenged each other to write at least one poem--any topic, any length, any form. When we met (via Zoom) one week later, I read a poem (see below) I’d written about new insights regarding my elementary school experiences that had taken place over 60 years ago. Debi read her poem about walking through weeds and climbing over fences the day she searched for (and found!) the long-forgotten grave of an ancestor.

The day we read our poems to each other, I had not come across Meredith Heller’s words I mentioned above. But when I read them a few days later, I knew she was absolutely correct in saying, “Poetry lives in the simplest things.” And, as she also says, “We must know how to look and listen.” In other words, we must learn to observe—-learn to notice things and learn to hear things. And, as I’m also discovering, we must learn to reflect on the information our five senses bring to our awareness. Learn to ask ourselves: What does this additional information mean? How does it relate to something else I already know? How should I use it?

Those are essential skills to develop--whether or not we write a poem.

(Written by Johnnie Ann Burgess Gaskill on February 2, 2022, in response to the writing prompt: "I remember…")

Note: I doubt I’ll ever be a poet laureate, but I do have such fun and gain new insights when I write poetry!