Mother Poem by Allie Lusha

She was once as strong as an ox
Now she lays in a wooden box
When she was fit and a young girl at that
The boys used to tease her
But she was still the one they’d wink at
She was pretty and knew her own mind
She was smart, just one of a kind
She married at seventeen
Not a man that she loved
Just, one she approved of
Chosen by her father
With the hope they may fall in love
She worked hard in the fields
Bringing food to the table
Every day digging and sowing
What she was able
They made a life together and she bore
Five sons and 2 daughters
He was away working there after
And though she worked her fingers to the bone
The house was always full of laughter
Her children were her life she kept them clean and well fed
And made them do chores to learn the value of bread
As the years passed her by her looks faded and tired
And her body grew weary and sad
when her husband expired
She never travelled or had money to burn
But her life was fulfilled and I never heard her yearn
For the easy life that I have
Now she lays there contented knowing in the life that she had
She did her best by her family through good and through bad.