Mother

A family poem copied and shared here to tell my cousin Patty how much I love her!

Amid anxiety, pain and fear,
She gave us life that we hold dear,
She watched us open baby eyes
And crooned us restful lullabies.
Our moods and smiles she understood
And saw us pass from babyhood
Into the realm of budding years
With mingled joy and pride and tears.

She taught us little words and talk
And coached us as we learned to walk,
She kissed our little bumps and aches
And eased our hearts of fancied breaks,
Our way she smoothed with doting care,
As climbed upward life's great stair
And gazed in awe at all the world,
As, lo its wonder were unfurled.

Then, as in years we older grew,
Her guiding hand was present, too,
And when our urge arrived to mate
And build a home beyond her gate,
She sat alone with memories
Of romping tots and pleasantries.
And then, content--her life complete
She journeyed on, her God to meet.

by: Henry James Mullen

This poem was presented with the compliments of the author, on the occasion of his 90th Birthday on July 20, 1969.

Henry was my Mother's Mother's Brother or Patty's Father's Mother's Brother.

When Patty said how she missed her Mom today, I thought of Sandy's heartfelt laugh, and then I thought of Patty's Dad, my Uncle Bob and how he laughed and called me Little Mary. I have many memories of Uncle Bob sitting in his wheelchair on the farm porch, which made me think of my one memory of Uncle Henry, sitting in a wheelchair on the porch at the farm.I just knew that Uncle Henry must have written a poem about Mothers, because we Barths...we love our Moms! No matter what happens in this world, the lives of family intertwine and mingle and our spirits dance around in our hearts forever joining us, healing us, being a part of us.