An ode to mothers

I really like Mothering Sunday, it’s one of my favourite days
I’m really quite fond of my mother (and almost everything she does or says)

One thing I’m crystal clear sure of, is mother has bundles of heart
She’s caring and kind, on reflection I find, that she’s been that way right from the start

One of the ways my own mother displays, her kindness (I can’t think of better)
Is her skill to compose, with feeling that flows – a beautiful handwritten letter

For some this day’s difficult or poignant, your feelings perhaps may be raw
A special hug may be in order – what friends and dear loved ones are for

It may be a surprise to discover, in the bible, an unusual thing
God is compared to a mother, protecting her chicks with her wings

So on this Mothering Sunday, whether you feel joyful, or blue
Show love to the ‘mothers’ in your life; and let God show his kindness to you

Broadcast on BBC Radio Leeds, Guernsey & Jersey

Image by Vânia Raposo from Pixabay

Red carpet reflections

Tell me, did you see the Oscars, did anyone stay up all night
Not something I could accomplish (next day I’d look quite a fright)
Did anything grab your attention, make you sit up just a bit?
Last year’s was hard to compete with; no one saw red or got hit

One thing that made it distinguished, helped it stand out from the pack
Was women being better rewarded, the status quo starting to crack
Another thing worthy of comment, that lifted the star-studded night
Was seeing the roll call of winners, not so ubiquitously white

‘Everything everywhere’, the multiverse one, scooped up the best picture gong
Seems to be saying, beside all its thrills, all’s not lost when it’s all going wrong
You might have some skills quite undreamed of, waiting to see light of day
A message to lift and inspire you, and drive all those self-doubts away

The thing that it prompts me to wonder, the thing that it moves me to say
Is what if you’re not an A-lister, partying it up in LA?
If you’re a Joe or Jill Average, juggling five kids on the go
What can you take from the musings, of Tinseltown darling Ms Yeoh?

There’s a small piece of overlooked wisdom, a nugget that always surprises
This: in another kingdom, heaven, is a whole different order of prizes
You might be a cook or a cleaner, maybe none know your name or your face
What’s valued right there isn’t stardust; just ordinary lives, shaped by grace

Image by Tom from Pixabay