Tag: Mothers

VERSE | WHO WILL TELL HER?

On By Mahvash K. M.In Humanity, verse, war, womenwriters, writingLeave a comment 
She stands there in her thrift store threads
Clean and scrubbed one can tell
Despite her modest, well-used clothes
And her holey, well-worn shoes
She used to know happier times 
(Hope still huddles in her eyes)
Her three children, wide-eyed surround
Her

They all gape at the golden car
A Lamborghini custom made
For a Sheikh
(Imported to the United States,for a holiday)
Oil fields gush in his backyard
Petrodollars in his bank 
Harvest hedged on the newest tank of
War

“Her. War”. They sit together in this poem
Teased, cajoled to conjoin
To form a hallowed, blessed tie
They claim the union to be right

Celestis, Infinitus, Divine.

But is it “her War”? She can’t tell
If she can’t tell, neither will I.

Image: Les Leffingwell

VERSE | THE CITY WITH NO SEASONS

On By Mahvash K. M.In poetry, Sadness, Spirituality, truth, womenwriters, writingLeave a comment 
Autumn’s here, the leaves they fall
As they do when summer drifts away
Slowly leaf by leaf, butterflies and bees 
All whisk away to other places where nippy winds 
Frost-nibbled grass and bare trees
Have had their day. They change places 
For a spell, the cities wear new faces 
Borrowed for a while
They smile, they sleep, they laugh, they dream
Hand in hand with the people passing by

Autumn’s here, the leaves should fall
As they do when summer slips away
But the seasons can’t find their way
Into this city, its leaves, butterflies and bees 
Have ceased to be. Permanently. Their carcasses one
With those of their humans that once 
Lived in this place.  They can’t change places 
Even for a while
They cannot sit and weep and weep and weep
Where mothers are slain and children are left to die.
Image: Helena

VERSE| FOR MY MOTHER ON HER BIRTHDAY 🌺

On By Mahvash K. M.In poetry, verse, writing2 Comments 
July has come round again 
Another birthday 
It’s been twelve whole years
Since you went away 
A decade and two years it’s been
And I want to tell you how these years 
Have touched me 
After you said your last goodbye

The first two were unhappy, desolate
I had regular nightmares
I’d go to sleep thinking of you 
And of those last few difficult days 
The ritual memory was oddly cathartic
Even as it hurt, cutting deep 
Ripping my heart out every night 
Before I lay me down to some semblance of sleep

And then through some blessed interlacing 
Of our two realms you came to me in a dream
You were well again
You were whole and you were happy
And I held your hands 
Even as you held mine
We laughed with joy as we whirled around

And since then 
My broken heart has gently 
Laced its red-blue pieces together 
With gold and purple lines
I now find you in visions and dreams
That are more serene
So real, that when I awake
You are somehow still around 
A heartbeat away, an echo warm and sweet
A lingering touch upon my cheek

I look at your picture on my phone
My heartstrings wrap around your form
It’s the next best thing to perfection
In our world of love and loss 
And so here you are shimmering
Lighting up my memories again
Twinkling eyes smiling away
Making me catch my breath
As I whisper dearest, a happy birthday.
Image: Yvonne Hemingway
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VERSE | THROUGH THEIR EYES

On By Mahvash K. M.In poetry, truth, verse, womenwriters, writingLeave a comment 
She sits there selling bangles 
Set up in a wicker basket 
Some laid down on the grass
Every now and then she gently 
Sweeps off the dust that spreads thinly
From teeming feet that hurry past
Barely slowing near the woman 
Sitting on her haunches hoping 
For someone to slow down, to pause 
Her concave belly almost touching 
The basket that is tugging 
The life blood from her womb 
Every time that she moves 
Spilling it in little driblets 
Onto its precious load

The maternal bond of glass and blood
Unremitting, never enough 
As she sits car-caressing 
Sometimes fretting, sometimes fussing
Rearranging, caring, loving
Always loving, always loving
A tender smile hov-hovering 
Around her tired mouth
She is umbilical-corded 
To her treasures 
Resting in their bed of wicker
Willing them to cleave their way 
Into the hearts of passersby 
Willing them to shine so bright 
That it brings tears to her eyes 
The boundless world of plenty
In those bangles by her side

Behind her lie two little heads 
Heat-numbed and stupefied 
Little thumbs in little mouths
Doing their best to pacify
The endless hunger in their bellies 
Matured and rarefied 
Over lifetimes spent behind 
Their mother as she hums 
Little songs of gentle rain 
On golden fields of wheat and rye
Watching their little sisters 
Take all their mother’s time 
Resting in their basket
They tinkle and they wink
They watch their little sisters 
Gleaming, laughing in delight 
Suckling on the joyfulness 
That streams from their mother’s eyes.
NB: Image is from the World Wide Web. Artist was not mentioned.

VERSE | HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAREST ONE 🌺

On By Mahvash K. M.In Nostalgic musings, poetry, verse, writingLeave a comment 
There is a little photograph 
That sits upon my shelf 
In its monochromatic hues it holds
My world in its sweet self 

A vision sits inside the frame 
A smile lights up her face 
She’s looking out from beaming eyes 
In another time and place 

Even as I look at her 
She reaches inside my heart 
Pulling at blue-purple strings 
Of memories tender and soft

I can almost feel the comforting 
Gentleness of her hand
It lies there like a lilly 
On the railing where she stands 

I wish sometimes for magic 
An alchemy of the souls 
for a few quicksilver moments 
Your beautiful hands to hold 

Then I close my eyes and reach 
For your vital warmth once more 
I’m wrapped up in nostalgia 
For times and places from before 

Your photo sits on my shelf, Mama 
It’s full of your love and grace
On most days I just reach within 
And you hold me in your loving embrace.

VERSE | FOR MY MOTHER, ON HER BIRTHDAY 🌺

On By Mahvash K. M.In Joy, poetry, verse, writingLeave a comment 
It’s your birthday today 
And I wanted to say 
That I wish I could see you 
For a little while today 
That your essence surrounds me 
On all of my days
Even if you are a breath or eons away 
That I love you 
And I miss you everyday.
Even if my words limited as they are
While making their cosmic way to you 
Should lose their form, be strewn apart 
That the love in them still finds its way to you 

I hope that you are happy and you’re well 
I hope you still have your special sparkle 
I hope you’re still lighting up lives  
As a friend, a mentor, a spirit divine
I hope your radiant glow also reaches within 
To make your big, lovely heart sing 

My dearest I hope you get this message of mine
In these words, on the breeze or in the warm sunshine   
My memories of you are full of joy 
Uplifting, heartwarming, they don’t usually hurt 
But today thoughts of you that flit through my mind 
Bring a sweet achiness to my throat 

It’s your birthday dear Mama and I wanted to say 
May the choicest of blessings fill your time and space.