In his Mother’s Arms’

Here is a poem I wrote a number of years ago. I wrote it because I knew a mom that had a son about to have surgery. It began with the idea that if a mother could…she would put her arms around her child and shelter him from any pain. Sometimes a poem does not end up the way you intended it to when you started writing it. This is one of those poems. It ended up going full circle. Still, of all the mediocre poetry I’ve written…this is one that I am proud to have written. Today, we take our son in for a circumcision. And though it’s a minor procedure…it’s still hard to take him in, when you know there will be pain involved for our little man. Especially after all he’s been through so far. So I dug this poem out of a box in my garage to share with you. I hope you enjoy, It’s called:

‘In his Mother’s Arms’

A mother sings a lullaby
While she listens to her baby cry
And though she wonders what is wrong
She continues with her bedtime song.
A mother holds her baby tight
In the middle of the night
For she knows that he will see no harm
While resting in his mother’s arms.

A mother holds her toddler still
While she fights against his stubborn will
With tears still running down his face
She comforts him with tender grace.
And though she knows what caused his pain
She cannot make the feeling wane
But she knows he’ll see no further harm
While resting in his mother’s arms.

The bicycle’s a mangled mess
The nurse begins the wound to dress
He’s fighting hard to stop the tears
As the doctor and his needle nears.
He’s sorry now he rode so fast
How long will this procedure last?
At least he knows he’s safe from harm
While sheltered in his mother’s arms.

He rushes to his room one night
He looks as if he’s had a fight
She softly knocks upon his door
Inquires of his teenage wars.
She tries to rid him of his anger
To keep him safe from further danger
She tells him he is safe from harm…
For now he’s in his mother’s arms.

The greatest pain is yet to come
For now he is her teenage son
He knows all that there is to know
No one can tell him where to go.
The boy has turned into a man
Forgot the course that he had ran
Too proud to care or be alarmed
He does not need his mother’s arms.

He finds the woman of his dreams
The perfect match for him it seems
He gives her love, he gives his heart
He promises they’ll never part.
But one night in a fit of rage
Their love has reached its final page
As life inflicts its cruelest harm
He misses most, his mother’s arms.

But life goes on; his heart is healed
A new love in his life revealed
They’re joined in holy matrimony
And learn to live on macaroni.
The time has passed and they give birth
A child’s placed upon this earth
The father knows it’s safe from harm
For it’s resting in its mother’s arms.

The cycle now has been completed
The struggles of her life defeated
Her children raised and on their own
My, how much they each have grown.
But just before she passes on
Before she sees that final dawn
She holds her son within her arms
And knows that ‘she’ is safe from harm!

(Although this poem is not based on any events in my life, I dedicate it to my Mother: Eva Mae Gardner. For she gave her all for her children, and I only regret that I wasn’t there at the end to hold her in my arms and say: “I love you Mom”)

Written by Clint Gardner, 1999