Three noisy, squirming bundles
That bellowed out their woes,
And motherhood was thrust on me
With tiny hands and toes.
Sleep soon became uncommon
As they made their presence known,
But how I treasured early hours
And special times alone.
When cooing became language
And I marveled at each word,
The first time they said “mama”
Was the sweetest sound I’d heard.
Falling, stumbling, standing up,
They ran with joyful cries.
A wondrous, precious miracle
Seen only through heart’s eyes.
Then rattles turned to baseballs,
Stuffed bears to Barbie dolls,
As voices of their playmates
Echo in the halls.
Little League and Brownies,
Cub Scouts and PTAs
We hurried through the busy years
That fade to memory’s haze.
With strains of “Pomp and Circumstance”
Came graduation’s part.
They strode the stage with eagerness
And tread upon my heart.
How precious sticky valentines,
“I love you, Mom,” they’d say.
I’d tuck away the pictures
And the gifts against that day
When only silence filled the rooms
And they are on their own.
My heart’s chest filled with memories
For times when I’m alone.
I struggled with a sacred trust
And did the best I could.
With tears and prayers and mother’s love
As God had known I would.
An original poem by Diana Wallis Taylor
