The Source
©1999 Susan Noyes Anderson (poem only)
If I had words to wrap around
those mommy days and mother years,
I’d hold them in my hands and say
that nothing ever disappears.
Family Relationship Poems
My heart is most pleased and blessed by family and family relationship poems, for they are closest to my heart. Some of these offerings are funny, moving, nostalgic, or religious. Others are more complex, refusing (as families themselves do) to fit neatly under any one characterization. My poems value the complexity of every family relationship and respect those who honor and uphold it. I hope you find something that resonates with you here. May the poems evoke feelings (delightful and occasionally less so) that we all associate with being part of a family.
FINDING THE POEM YOU WANT: As you scroll through this section, simply read each snippet sample (usually the first four lines) to get a feel for the poem. When you find something you like, click “CONTINUE READING” to view the entire poem.
(My work may be used free for non-commercial purposes only. Please request permission by email and include full copyright information, legibly printed, on every copy made. For internet use, a link back to the poem on this website is required.)
A Parent’s Reverie
©1997 Susan Noyes Anderson, At the End of Your Rope, There’s Hope,
Deseret Book (poem only)
Sometimes, when I am quite alone and still,
The Spirit speaks and whispers words of truth:
That I am not the master of your youth
And was not called to bend you to my will.
A Mother’s Prayer
©2000 Susan Noyes Anderson (poem only)
The day came when my mother’s brow
was creased with age and pain.
Her step was slow; her blue-veined hand
curled ‘round a walking cane.
Counterparts
©1984 Susan Noyes Anderson (poem only)
Trail of Sacrifice – Valley of Promise, ©Clark Kelley Price
Great-grandma walked across the plains,
her blue dress grey with travel stains.
She bore the hardship, for she knew
her faith in the Lord would see her through.
A Promise for Eternity
©2003 by Susan Noyes Anderson, His Children, Vantage Point Press
Photograph ©2003 Anita Schiller
I do believe that long ago in the eternities,
I was a bosom friend to you and you a friend to me.
We shared a bond, an understanding that was quick and sure.
I wonder if we knew that it would deepen and endure.
Harvest Gifts
©1993 Susan Noyes Anderson
Image by Camille Pissarro – The Harvest
Our great grandparents knew about the harvest:
the months of labor gathered in with care…
the gratitude for every hard-earned blessing…
the love for home and hearth…the need to share.
Reflections in the Sealing Room
©1980 Susan Noyes Anderson
Hand in hand, we gazed into
the mirror’s illumining light
and caught reflections of the gift
we realized that night.
Just For A Change
©2000 Susan Noyes Anderson, Sunshine for the Latter-day Mother’s Soul, Eagle Gate
Just for a change I’d like to make
a change this very day–
I’d like to do the things that all
those mothering books say.