read write prompt #26: are you my mother?

by Blythe

It’s the time of year when the earth blooms with warmth and color, baby robins crack through eggshells to naively take on the world, and Hollywood moms proudly strut about to reveal their winter-night-born love-bumps. And the American greeting card industry is counting on us all to send our mothers a card.

I resisted making this week’s prompt about mothers, because it seems like too conventional of a choice. But I did a little research on the American version of the holiday at wikipedia, and it turns out that when social activist Julia Ward Howe suggested the celebration, it was intended to be a day when mothers came together to speak out against war, which I think adds a little (pacifistic) spunk to the day.

Let’s face it: love them, hate them, fear them, miss them – or all of the above – the bond we have with our mother is one of the most primal and life-forming we will encounter. It might be natural that the relationship would show up in some of our poetic work, and this week I think it would be a great focus. (Here are some examples of poems about mothers.)

Maybe your relationship with your mother does not deserve a reverential ode — a vengeful or mournful piece would work just as well. Maybe you can find inspiration in Mother Nature, Mother Theresa, or the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo. Think through the people and events in your life that have mothered you. You could write about your experience as a mother, or your aspirations to become one.

Ideas for collaboration:

• Choose a photo or some words describing your mother and exchange them with another poet. Write about each others’ mothers.
• In the spirit of Julia Ward Howe’s vision, get together with other poets and write protest poems on a cause you are all moved by. Protest Poems is a great online resource by one of our Read Write Poem members.
• Ask your mother or a mother figure in your life to write something with you.

Whatever slant you take, remember this: Eat your veggies. Clean your plate. If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.

Oh, and come back Monday after midnight and find the Get Your Poem On post. Leave a comment for us, with a link to your poem of the week.