Mother: A Cradle to Hold Me by Maya Angelou

This slim volume of only nine poems is really for Mother’s Day, but the wonderfully simple images of Angelou are appropriate for anyone in love. It is also a wonderful reminder of the debt we owe our mothers, and not only for the gift of life.

Here is my favorite, the last:

Mother I have learned enough now
To know I have learned nearly nothing.
On this day
When mothers are being honored,
Let me thank you
That my selfishness, ignorance, and mockery
Did not bring you to
Discard me like a broken doll
Which had lost its favor.
I thank you that
You still find something in me
To cherish, to admire, and to love.

I thank you, Mother.
I love you.

--Chiron, 6/19/08