My Mother Taught Me
©2011 Susan Noyes Anderson (poem only)
My mother taught me how to play
each note to form a song.
She showed me how to hold the bow
and keep my down stroke strong.
I am delighted to make these holiday poems available to you. They are gifts from my heart to anyone willing to accept them. My hope is that each holiday poem brings added meaning to someone’s Christmas or Easter, Valentine’s Day or Independence Day. Writing them has already brought added meaning to mine. (Poems for nearly every holiday are listed here. You may click specifically on Christmas Poems, Easter Poems, Patriotic Poems, and Thanksgiving Poems. (Please email a request for permission before using. Include full copyright information on every copy. For internet use, a link back to this website is required.)
FINDING THE POEM YOU WANT: As you scroll through this section, read each snippet sample (usually the first four lines). This will give you a feel for the poem’s content. When you find something you like, click “CONTINUE READING” to view the entire poem.
My mother taught me how to play
each note to form a song.
She showed me how to hold the bow
and keep my down stroke strong.
Leather sandals, dusty feet,
soles worn out in service.
Lessons taught, lessons learned;
stilled souls waiting, nervous.
To bathe soiled feet was but a servant’s lot,
eschewed by men whose station lent them grace.
These did not stoop to take a lowly place,
nor pause to wonder if, one day, they ought.
ignoring Lent
was never meant
the message simply wasn’t sent
Sometimes I dream our manger scene
is brought to life at night.
The darkness yields to shepherds’ fields
and one star, shining bright.
“Pardon me,” said Tom T. Urkee,
“but I’d like to say a word.
Let me make this clear, not murky.
I’m a man and not a bird.
Are we condemned to take our lives for granted?
Must loss be felt (or feared) before the joy?
Does gratitude grow stale when goodness gathers,
when all is well with every girl and boy?
Americans are different
as Americans can be.
We hail from north, south, east and west…
from sea to shining sea.