Category: Poems

I Wish I Had…..

This poem was written in 2001. I have never read it to Mum. Now I wish I had. I was always waiting for that appropriate moment – if only I knew when and what that appropriate moment was. Mum did not speak English but she could understand. I guess she would have understood the gist of this poem if I had taken the time to read it to her. Even if she did not, I could have translated it into Hokkien for her. I did not. And now I never can. Mum, if you are listening from up there, I dedicate this poem to you with all my love and gratitude.

MOTHER

Gently rocked my cradle
Humming soft lullabies
A deed great and noble

Coarse hands ever tender
Soothing away my fears
Always my defender

Tended me lovingly
A great cultivator
Raised to maturity

Austere and devoted
A being beyond compare
Ever dedicated

A guiding light of hope
Even in darkest hours
My despair you helped cope

There shall be no other
For there is only one
The one I call Mother.

A Poem For Mum


My weighty burdens you helped carry
And led me across a perilous journey
Till I was soundly safe and comfy
And then you left me quietly

The infinite pain in my heart
When we reluctantly had to part
Flung me into sorrow and despair
And made each day difficult to bear

Exactly one month since you left
Thirty one days I have been bereft
Of your loving motherly touch
That I yearned for so very much

It felt as if it was only yesterday
We had much to share and say
To bring joy into each other’s life
Where laughter and bliss were rife

You are one truly remarkable being
Versatile, intelligent and inspiring
In you I found the strength of mind
To overcome obstacles of every kind

Yet now I am forlornly searching
For that very strength in surmounting
This difficult trial that has come to pass
The pain that is so hard to get over alas

So with tears of blood and anguish
I tender my most heartfelt wish
That you have found perpetual calm
In the comfort of Jesus’ loving arms.