Mother of Mine



Mother of Mine ©
Gary Shulman, MS. Ed.
August 10, 2021

As a child in the 50s and 60s
I so fondly do recall
All those Mom’s from the old TV shows
How I truly did love them all
In aprons and pearls often attired
Loving smiles would warm my screen
But once the TV was retired
Life didn’t seem so squeaky clean
Sometimes our moms would be puffing
Kents, Camels, Lucky Strike or Lark
Not sharing such yearned for quality time
Like taking  us to the park
Now I ask you please don’t get me wrong
Or think I just yearn to complain
Their lives were by no means easy
Stress can certainly drive you insane!
A hidden bottle of booze I recall
Stashed neatly in the linen closet
Prompts me to propose a theory
So my theory I shall now posit
Many of our moms married very young
Fresh out of their sheltered high schools
Never having lived independent lives
Now often living by a husband’s rules
Of course this wasn’t always the case
Your mom was yours, mine was mine
Not saying all moms in the 50s and 60s
Passed their time by guzzling wine
But I do know it wasn’t “Leave it to Beaver”
“My three Sons” or “Father knows Best”
Sometimes mental illness
Put families to the ultimate test
Yes I do have fond memories of mom
And her weekly Mahjong laughter
Yes we had those happy times
And in my heart I bless her forever after
Our brains do try to protect us
From times gone sour and spoiled
We all wanted familial perfection
Not memories tarnished and soiled
So let’s agree there was good, there was bad
And everything in-between
Here’s to you dear mother of mine
Rest in peace
You did just fine

About this poem

Recollections, not always perfection, of my mother from the 50s and 60s. Many can relate I am sure.

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Written on August 10, 2021

Submitted by shulman.gary on August 10, 2021

Modified by shulman.gary on August 10, 2021

1:30 min read
17

Quick analysis:

Scheme AXX BCXCDEDEXFXFXGHGCIHIXJXJXABAKLMLXKXKMNXNXEAXA
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,565
Words 301
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 3, 45

Gary Shulman, MS. Ed.

Gary Shulman, MS. Ed. has spent a lifetime supporting vulnerable families and children. He began his career working with children with and without disabilities in an inclusive Head Start program in Brooklyn NY. He then transitioned to become the Special Needs and Early Childhood Coordinator for the Brooklyn Children's Museum for 10 years. His passion for advocacy grew as he worked more and more with parents of children with disabilities. For over 24 years he passionately advocated for the needs of these parents as the Social Services and Training Director for Resources for Children with Special Needs, Inc. in NYC. The last 8 years of his working life, Mr. Shulman served as a private Special Needs Consultant conducting hundreds of training sessions throughout NYC and beyond to help parents and professionals find and access the services and systems required to facilitate maximizing the potential of their children with disabilities. Now Mr. Shulman is happily retired in Palm Springs CA, but still volunteers his time any way he can to provide information to those in need of his expertise. Today, Gary enjoys sharing his poetry that he passionately writes with the goal of leaving this world a better place one word at a time. more…

All Gary Shulman, MS. Ed. poems | Gary Shulman, MS. Ed. Books

6 fans

Discuss the poem Mother of Mine with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Mother of Mine" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 24 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/106761/mother-of-mine>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    6
    days
    11
    hours
    43
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    A poem in which the first letters of each line spell a word is called _______.
    A an acrostic
    B an ode
    C a sestina
    D a haiku