A Contribution

• A dear member of this blog has sent me a very moving poem to pay tribute to mothers. 

In Memory of my Mother by Patrick Kavanagh

I do not think of you lying in the wet clay

Of a Monaghan graveyard; I see

You walking down a lane among the poplars

On your way to the station, or happily

Going to second Mass on a summer Sunday –

You meet me and say:

“Don’t forget to see about the cattle”

Among your earthiest words the angels stray.

And I think of you walking along a headland

Of green oats in June,

So full of repose, so rich with life –

And I see us meeting at the end of town

On a fair day by accident, after

The bargains are all made and we can walk

Together through the shops and stall and markets

Free in the oriental streets of thought.

  

O you are not lying in the wet clay,

For it is a harvest evening now and we

Are piling up the ricks against the moonlight

And you smile up at us – eternally.

Glossary:

2. Monagahan: a county in the northwest region of Ireland.

4. the station: this could refer to the railway station; or perhaps to the Irish rural custom of a priest visiting homes in his parish to hear confessions and to say Mass.

19. ricks: a large pile of straw or hay (= dried grass) that has been built in a regular shape.

• He has also sent me this song by Kate Bush. I am also posting the audio for you to enjoy.

Mother stands for comfort by Kate Bush
Cover version by Jane Birkin)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5satHt2LFo

She knows that I've been doing something wrong,
But she won't say anything.
She thinks that I was with my friends yesterday,
But she won't mind me lying,
Because

Mother stands for comfort.
Mother will hide the murderer.

It breaks the cage, and fear escapes and takes possession,
Just like a crowd rioting inside.
(Make me do this, make me do that, make me do this, make me do that...)
Am I the cat that takes the bird?
To her the hunted, not the hunter.

Mother stands for comfort.
Mother will hide the murderer.
Mother hides the madman.
Mother will stay mum.

Mother stands for comfort.
Mother will hide the murderer.
Mother hides the madman.
Mother will stay mum.