Stories from the Stringam Family Ranches of Southern Alberta

From the 50s and 60s to today . . .



Monday, July 3, 2017

Verse-imilitude

A bit of a departure for today's Poetry Monday (the best day of the week!)
This is 'verse' written by my mother so many, many years ago.
But it is so perfect, it needs to be shared.
Again.
And again . . .

My Mom.
She of the wicked pen . . .
and wonderful cooking.
From my Mom . . .

Blessed art thou, woman.
For thou shalt be called 'Mother'.
Yea, and thy tasks and thy chores shall follow thee all the days of thy life.
And thou shalt eat the bread of thine own baking.
And thou shalt dwell forever in a dirty house, if thou dost not choose to clean it thyself.
Thou shalt arise before the cock croweth.
And thou shalt say unto thyself, "Where are the offspring which were given me? Yea, the sun has risen high in the sky and the hour grows late, wherefore I have been long at my labours."
And thou shalt go and find thine offspring prostrate in their cot.
And thou shalt say unto them, "Haste, arise and shine, for I have many labours for thee to perform; wherefore I have been many hours preparing the way."
And thine offspring linger in sleep and shall say unto thee, "Thou didst not watch the late, late, late show as I did last night and mine eyes are heavy and mine bones acheth."
And thou shalt say unto thy offspring, "Get thee up from thy cot; ere I lay a hand upon thee, and go ye hither and scrub a sparkling tub, for thou hast left black rings upon its sides."
And thy offspring shalt say unto thee, "I will go and do thy bidding - in a minute."
And thy rage shall know no end.
And thou shalt weep and wail and gnash thy teeth mightily.
Never-the-less, thou shalt scrub a sparkling tub thyself and glory shall be added unto thee, for thou didst not strike the lazy beast.
Thou are blessed above all others and thy descendants shall call thee 'Blessed', for thou preparest a table before them. Thou cookest meat and all manner of tasty vittles and they shall sit at thy table with thee and partake with thee.
And they shall add glory unto thy crown for they shall let thee also wash the dishes, if thou wilt.
And when the night falleth thou shalt be deflated, and thy offspring shall say unto thee, "She is an old woman, wherefore she neither goes dancing, nor does she watch the late, late, late show."
Thy art and thy craft shall make thee called upon and thou shalt labour at many tasks in thy kingdom for whosoever asketh.
Thou doest his bidding.
Thy back shall acheth with arthritis; thy cane and thy husband shall be thy support.
Thy veins shall be varicose in thine aching legs, but thou shalt do thy duty with a smile; neither shalt thou complain.
Thou are blessed with a crown every second Sunday in May.
Wherefore, thou art blessed above all others for thou are 'Mother' and thou shalt find joy in thy offspring forever.
If thou endureth to the end!
Thanks, Mom.
Now go to and see what Jenny has to say about cat hair and Delores about a rather large birthday celebration! Hooray for Poetry Monday!

17 comments:

  1. Your Mom had it right down to thd last detail. Makes you wonder why anyone wants to be a Mother doesn't it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I guess it's a good thing we aren't informed ahead of time, isn't it! :)

      Delete
  2. Fantastic! Your mom had a wonderful sense of humour! So many good lines, but I especially loved "they shall let thee also wash the dishes" and the offsprings' reasoning as to why mom never goes out at night :D Your parents were a good match, weren't they?! (And the apple didn't fall far from the tree ...)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I miss that sense of humour! Do you suppose there's writing in Heaven?
      And thank you! :)

      Delete
  3. In just a few years, oh lazy teenagers, thou shall knowith the truth of why Mom doesn't watch the late late late late show and washith the dishes herself. Forsooth, each generation shall labor to learnith the truth themselves. (Behold, now I know where your writing talent comes from!)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am wincing. And smiling.
    And grateful that your mother's apple landed in your outstretched hand.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The torch has been passed. Will I live up to it?
      I'll try! :)

      Delete
  5. She of the wicked pen is right! I love the line, "for thou didst not strike the lazy beast", cracked me up!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for sharing this, Diane!
    Love,
    Chris

    ReplyDelete
  7. A beautiful AND true poem :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. We might think that the generations change, but they really don't. I remember getting up my teenagers and asking them to do chores. Now I enjoy watching my children doing the same thing with their children and I smile.

    Your mom wrote something true for all time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We are told we will have joy and rejoicing in our children. Watching them try to do with their kids what we tried to do with them brings great joy! ;)

      Delete
  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete

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