A Mother's Part

It is a wonderful part each mother plays
In this old world of ours;
She rules with just a kindly word
O'er the great and mighty powers.

She builds our nations large and small
With just a kindly touch,
For she builds them in the very heart
Of the child she loves so much.

Phyllis C. Michael



I Wish I'd Known My Mother When...

I wish I'd known my mother 
	When she was just a girl.
I'm sure my father thought her
	The sweetest in the world.
I know he asked her father
	Before they set the date.
Then mother wore her diamond
	To show that she would wait.

Mother's trousseau had to be
	A handmade work of art.
There must have been a dozen
	New suits and gowns to start.
Linens, cross-stitch, appliqués,
	Fine quilts of blue and gold,
Most of all her wedding gown
	Was lovely to behold.

I wish I had been present 
	At Hillside church that day
To hear them sing "O Promise Me,"
	And brush their tears away,
To kiss the happy couple
	When it was time to go.
I wish I had been present
	With lots of rice to throw.

Their honeymoon was special.
	They caught the westbound train.
I could have waved good-bye then,
	And kissed them once again.
I would have asked a porter
	To give them tender care;
I'm sure he guessed their secret
	(The rice was in their hair.)

I know they bought a cottage
	Just large enough for two.
My mother dusted it with love,
	Baked sugar cookies, too.
I wish I'd been her neighbor
	Who came for snacks and teas,
Who walked the back fence
	Exchanging recipes.

I recall when I was small
	She taught me prayerfully.
Sometimes I think my mother was 
	A little bit like me.
Of all the people in the world,
	Much more than any other,
I wish I might have known her,
	Before she was my mother.

Brenda Leigh



A Rose for Mother

Another Mother's Day is here,
	Bringing joy and pleasure new.
On this special day, Mother dear,
	I want to remember you.

I cannot give you costly gifts,
	And I've told you this before,
No matter what I give you,
	You give back much, much more.

I'm giving you a pure, sweet rose,
	Gathered in the early morn,
This rose you planted in my heart,
	The day that I was born.

In kindly, loving thoughts of you,
	And with the faith you still impart,
The rose I give to you today
	Is the love that's in my heart.

Cleo M. Shoffstall



Where's Mom?
Where's Mom? There's a big raid
	On those cookies she made!
They're disappearing fast;
	They never, ever last.

Where's Mom? I want to know.
	I've got something to show,
My big yellow moth
	Is ready to take off!

I want to tell Mom now, 
	That she may take a bow,
My new jacket she made
	Puts others in the shade!

When I was sick in bed,
	I liked it when she read
Stories of dragons and knights,
	'Cause she acted stuff out just right!

And when I cut my knee,
	Mom bandaged it and kissed me;
For better or for worse,
	She should have been a nurse.

Where's Mom? Sometimes at night,
	She comes in and turns on the light
When I've had a bad dream,
	And things aren't what they seem.

Hey Mom, before I run out the door,
	I want to say one thing more,
"who's got the best Mom?" I say,
	"I do!" happy Mother's Day!

Maurine Wagner



Mothering Sunday

It is the day of all the year,
Of all the year the one day
When I shall see my mother dear,
And bring her cheer,
	A-mothering on Sunday.

So I'll put on my Sunday coat,
And in my hat a feather,
And get the lines I writ by rote,
With many a note
That I've a-strung together.
	A-mothering on Sunday.

It is the day of all the year,
Of all the year the one day;
And here come I, my mother dear,
To bring you cheer.
	A-mothering on Sunday.

George Hare Leonard



Happy Mother's Day

I wish you joy and laughter,
No doubts or times of fear,
Love forever after
Through all of your many years.

I wish you sunshine and roses,
Blue skies for every day,
And, as each day closes,
Starlight to grace the way.

I wish you friendship's warming hand
And doors that never close,
Rolling tides and silver sands,
God's blessing-all of those.

I wish you moonlight and rainbows,
A prayer to wrap around your day,
All the good things, heaven knows,
And a super Mother's Day.

Irene Larsen



Mother's Wages

She is paid in dandelions, crayoned art,
And plaster hand prints.
She is also paid in the sounds of small voices
In prayer, song, and laughter.

A mother isn't pain by the hour or the mile;
She fills her heart with a kiss and a smile.
She can find wealth in clean little faces,
In hugs and in curls, in denims and laces.
She is paid with the sights of little-sized joys.

A mother isn't paid by the hour or the mile;
She fills her heart with a kiss and an smile.

Starlette L. Howard



Angels in Disguise

There is a sweet, angelic look
In every mother's eyes
That makes us stop and wonder
If they're angels in disguise;

For they are always standing by
When someone needs a friend.
No one has as much compassion;
None are quicker to defend.

There is a little bit of God
In every mother's heart.
He molded them of finer clay
That sets them well apart.
They are an earthly blessing
That heaven itself supplies;
And so we can't help believing
They are angels in disguise!

Reginald Holmes



What is a Mother?

A mother is someone to shelter and guide us,
To love us, whatever we do,
With a warm understanding and infinite patience
And wonderful gentleness, too.
How often a mother means swift reassurance
In soothing our small, childish fears,
How tenderly mothers watch over their children
And treasure them all through the years!
The heart of a mother is full of forgiveness
For any mistake, big or small,
And generous always in helping her family,
Whose needs she has placed above all.
A mother can utter a word of compassion
And make all our cares fall away,
She can brighten a home with the sound of her laughter
And make life delightful and gay.
A mother possesses incredible wisdom
And wonderful insight and skill -
In each human heart is that one special corner
Which only a mother can fill!

Katherine Nelson Davis


Dear Mother

Dear Mother, you are part of me...And I am part of you...
And you are a part of everything...I ever think or do...
And out of all the parts of life...I am or hope to be...
I need not tell you, Mother dear...You are the best in me...
You are the sweetest of my songs...The truest of my friends...
You are the sunshine in my heart...The dream that never ends...
You are the hand that comforts me... The smile that lifts me up...
And you are all the sugar...At the bottom of my cup...
Oh, Mother dear, there are some things...I cannot write or say...
But all my love and gratitude...Go out to you today!

James L. Metcalfe



Memories and Mother

When mother came to our room
To tuck us in at night,
Her face would look so gentle
In the soft, bedside light.

And though we may not always
Have behaved our best that day,
She'd let us know she loved us
In a very special way:
An extra fold to the coverlet,
A little pat, a hug,
And we'd settle down to dreamland,
Feeling safe and snug.

And of all the childhood memories
That there have ever been,
We love best to recall the times
When Mother tucked us in.

Mary Rita Hurley



A Mother

When God looked down upon the earth
And chose to put new blessings there,
	Gifts from above
	To show his love,
And lighten earthly joy and care,
He gave the sky the sunset glow;
Gave fragrance to the lily's blow;
	Gave laughter gay
	To children's play
And then to every yearning soul
He gave that gift of tenderest worth -
A Mother.

The lily's wetness is forgotten,
And sunset splendors fade to gray;
	But fresh and dear,
	Through changing year,
Through quiet night, or eager day,
The love of her we love the best
Lives closely shrined within each breast.
	Bless Heaven for -
	A Mother.

Sarah N. Latham