Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Memories Respond to Invitations

June 1, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is Memorial Day, which falls on May 30.

Today’s poem is a Memorial Day poem about the need for memorials to keep the memory of those long dead alive.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Memories respond to invitations,
Electing in their interests to attend.
Moments of remembrance moor sensations
On shadows shifting gently in the wind.
Remember to remember, then, those passed
In whom we vested hope in days of strife,
Again among the trenches, dropping fast,
Lost now to love as once they were to life.

Do honor them with rituals that last,
A list of names reduced to battered brass
Yet hallowed by a hell we cannot end.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/memday.html. For more Memorial Day poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/memorialdaypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Memorial Day.
June 1: Memories Respond to Invitations

Make of Me Whatever You Desire

May 31, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is Memorial Day, which falls on May 30.

Today’s poem is a Memorial Day epitaph for a fallen soldier.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Make of me whatever you desire.
Empty me of everything but you.
Memory's the light without the fire,
Offering what now will have to do.
Remember me for your sake, not for mine.
I'm nothing now but what you want to see,
A well-wrought miniature of your design,
Laid to rest within your marquetry.
Days of longing are for you alone
As I turn slowly into soil and stone,
Yielding what means nothing more to me.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/makeof.html. For more Memorial Day poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/memorialdaypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Memorial Day.
May 31: Make of Me Whatever You Desire

Monday, May 30, 2016

Maybe in the Grip of Pain

May 30, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is Memorial Day, which falls on May 30.

Today’s poem is a Memorial Day poem about love and grief.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Maybe in the grip of pain
Each moment seems like years.
Maybe there is beauty that
One cannot see through tears.
Remember that it’s love that is
Impossible to bear,
As loss would not be torture without
Love to lead it there.
Days of grief are days of grace,
Although quite different on their face.
Yet love is what they share.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/mayb12.html. For more Memorial Day poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/memorialdaypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Memorial Day.
May 30: Maybe in the Grip of Pain

Sunday, May 29, 2016

Nine

May 29, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is children’s birthdays. If you would like to use any of these poems, please feel free to change the names and/or genders in them.

Today’s poem is a birthday number poem for the parents of a nine year old.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Nine is an age when children like to lie:
Instantly, the world is rearranged!
Nothing is the same, and nothing's changed,
Except an angel waves one last goodbye.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/9.html. For more birthday poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/birthdaypoems.html . For more poems to children, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/childrenpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Children’s Birthdays.
May 24: You’re Four
May 27: One5
May 28: You Are Five
May 29: Nine

Saturday, May 28, 2016

You Are Five

May 28, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is children’s birthdays. If you would like to use any of these poems, please feel free to change the names and/or genders in them.

Today’s poem is a birthday poem for a five-year-old girl who can read.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

You are five!
A big girl now!
Reading on your own!

I know you can
'Cause look at this:
You've just read this poem!

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/your5.html. For more birthday poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/birthdaypoems.html . For more poems to children, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/childrenpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Children’s Birthdays.
May 24: You’re Four
May 27: One5
May 28: You Are Five

Friday, May 27, 2016

One5

May 27, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is children’s birthdays. If you would like to use any of these poems, please feel free to change the names and/or genders in them.

Today’s poem is a birthday number poem for the parents of a one-year-old girl.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

One has piano legs and chubby cheeks.
Now she babbles, now she nearly speaks,
Embracing heartily the words she seeks.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/1e.html. For more birthday poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/birthdaypoems.html . For more poems to children, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/childrenpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Children’s Birthdays.
May 24: You’re Four
May 27: One5

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Maddy Is Four Years Old Today

May 26, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is children’s birthdays. If you would like to use any of these poems, please feel free to change the names and/or genders in them.

Today’s poem is a birthday poem for a four-year-old girl.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Maddy is four years old today!
Now it's time to laugh and play!

Now it's time to sing a song
And have a party all day long!

Now it's time to have some fun!
So Happy Birthday, little one!

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/maddyi.html. For more birthday poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/birthdaypoems.html . For more poems to children, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/childrenpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Children’s Birthdays.
May 24: You’re Four
May 26: Maddy Is Four Years Old Today

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

You're Eight

May 25, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is children’s birthdays. If you would like to use any of these poems, please feel free to change the names and/or genders in them.

Today’s poem is a birthday poem for an eight year old.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

You're eight! You're eight!
Now isn't that great?

You can't be seven --
It's too late!

You can't be nine --
You'll have to wait!

This is your year
For being eight!

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/youre8.html. For more birthday poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/birthdaypoems.html . For more poems to children, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/childrenpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Children’s Birthdays.
May 24: You’re Four
May 25: You’re Eight

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

You're Four

May 24, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is children’s birthdays. If you would like to use any of these poems, please feel free to change the names and/or genders in them.

Today’s poem is a birthday poem for a four-year-old boy.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

You’re four! You’re four!
A big boy now!
But not as big
As a horse or cow!

You’re bigger than
A bee or ant,
But not as big
As an elephant!

You’re bigger than
A monkey’s tail,
But not as big
As a humpback whale!

You’re bigger than
You were before.
Then you were three,
But now you’re four!

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/youre4.html. For more birthday poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/birthdaypoems.html . For more poems to children, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/childrenpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Children’s Birthdays.
May 24: You’re Four

Monday, May 23, 2016

Sing, Little Madeline

May 23, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is children’s birthdays. If you would like to use any of these poems, please feel free to change the names and/or genders in them.

Today’s poem is a birthday poem for a little girl of about 5 – 7.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Sing, little Madeline! Sing for joy!
Your birthday is today!
Perhaps you’ll get a doll or toy
With which to dance and play.

Perhaps you’ll have a birthday cake
With candles to blow out,
A celebration for your sake
With loved ones all about.

Sing, little Madeline! Sing a song
Of happiness and pleasure!
This day is your day all day long,
A day that you will treasure.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/singli.html. For more birthday poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/birthdaypoems.html . For more poems to children, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/childrenpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Children’s Birthdays.
May 23: Sing, Little Madeline

Sunday, May 22, 2016

Happy Sixth Anniversary3

May 22, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is anniversaries.

Today’s poem is a sixth anniversary poem about choosing love.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Happy sixth anniversary!
A time to think of time.
Perhaps one chooses freely;
Perhaps there's a design.
Years tell a simple story,
Some would say foretold,
In which, through choice unchanging,
Xeroxing their we,
The lovers remain loving,
Having once struck gold.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/happ72.html. For more anniversary poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/anniversarypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Anniversaries.
May 22: Happy Sixth Anniversary3

Saturday, May 21, 2016

Even as the Years Accumulate

May 21, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is anniversaries.

Today’s poem is an eighth anniversary poem about the love beneath the years.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Even as the years accumulate,
In love there is a wonder always there,
Grace like light along a dark horizon,
Harbinger of sunrise in the heart,
Taking us each dawning by surprise.

Years pile up like leaves, disintegrate,
Each memory a seedling that we share
As we become entangled in a rhizome
Rich with roots we cannot tell apart,
Selves made one on which each self relies.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/evena4.html. For more anniversary poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/anniversarypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Anniversaries.
May 21: Even as the Years Accumulate

Friday, May 20, 2016

Here Among the Dishes, Pots, and Pans

May 20, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is anniversaries.

Today’s poem is a 23rd anniversary poem about a love that endures beneath the everyday world.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Here among the dishes, pots, and pans,
Ants and spiders, fungi, mites, and mold,
Pastries, pastas, fears of growing old,
Passions, plaints, pills, purposes, and plans;
Yes, here among arthritic, blue-veined hands,
The whispered warnings of the coming cold;
Well-worn tales all-too-often told,
Easy words too clear to understand;
Nestled deep beneath this restless sea,
These waves that break above our sunken shores,
Yearning, turning, yearning yet again,
There we are, somehow still in love.
How beautiful! The land of you and me,
Innocent beyond all care or cause,
Restoring in Atlantis Eden’s reign
Deep below the world in which we move.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/herea4.html. For more anniversary poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/anniversarypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Anniversaries.
May 20: Here Among the Dishes, Pots, and Pans

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Eight Years and Counting

May 19, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is anniversaries.

Today’s poem is an eighth anniversary poem about the sweetness of loving.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Eight years and counting! How sweet the wonton ways!
In mutual love there’s freedom to enjoy
Gifts given for the sheer delight of giving.
How beautiful to love and to be loved!
The simple formula for happiness.

Yet love, yes, even love must have its days,
Enduring moments when one would destroy
All that lingers at the heart of living.
Remember in those times the time you moved
So shyly, joyfully, towards innocence.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/8years.html. For more anniversary poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/anniversarypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Anniversaries.
May 19: Eight Years and Counting

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Heaven Is a Place Within the Heart

May 18, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is anniversaries.

Today’s poem is a 12th anniversary poem about angels singing in the heart.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Heaven is a place within the heart.
Angels live there singing songs of praise.
Perhaps you’ve heard them, as you play your part,
Piercing through the veil of humdrum days.
Your love flows from that inner paradise,
The best of you, fed by mountain springs,
Winding down towards a world of want and vice,
Eternal in a world of passing things.
Love seeks like love to cherish in another,
Finding what will last through changing years.
The angels sing of love that lasts forever,
Here, now, in those who feel their joy as tears.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/heav6.html. For more anniversary poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/anniversarypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Anniversaries.
May 18: Heaven Is a Place Within the Heart

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Happiness Has Much to Recommend It

May 17, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is anniversaries.

Today’s poem is a 10th anniversary poem about attaining and retaining happiness.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Happiness has much to recommend it,
Although it might require sacrifice.
People very often will refuse it,
Perhaps because it means one must be nice.
Yet some can find love strong enough to choose it.

There is no simple, practical advice
Embracing all that one must do to gain it,
Nor set of rules, consistent and precise,
That would help happy people to retain it.
However, all things precious have a price.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/happ71.html. For more anniversary poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/anniversarypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Anniversaries.
May 17: Happiness Has Much to Recommend It

Monday, May 16, 2016

The Years Flow Through Our Marriage like a River

May 16, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is anniversaries.

Today’s poem is a 24th anniversary poem about love and time.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

The years flow through our marriage like a river
We watch from some steep bank along the way,
Each of us as much in love as ever,
Nor can our words this sense of grace convey.
Time runs on below us as we pause,
Yielding to the wonder of our love,
Fate that seems beyond effect and cause,
Our choices moved by ends we know not of.
Underneath our love is something more,
Refusing time and will, refusing age,
The joy in being that all life is for,
Here within us as we turn the page.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/theye3.html. For more anniversary poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/anniversarypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Anniversaries.
May 16: The Years Flow Through Our Marriage like a River

Sunday, May 15, 2016

Graduates Become the Cover Story

May 15, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. Since many colleges and universities hold their graduation ceremonies this week, this week’s theme is graduation.

Today’s poem is about how graduates affect the reputation of an institution.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Graduates become the cover story,
Representing all those still within;
As those who came before provide the glory
Determining how well one might begin.
Underneath the letters are the learners,
A class on whom the mantle now must fall,
Taken into custody as earners,
Each a new advertisement for all,
Serving as the institute writ small.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/gradua.html. For more graduation poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/graduationpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Graduation.
May 15: Graduates Become the Cover Story

Saturday, May 14, 2016

Give Me My Degree and Let Me Go

May 14, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. Since many colleges and universities hold their graduation ceremonies this week, this week’s theme is graduation.

Today’s poem is from the point of view of someone who didn’t really want an education.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Give me my degree and let me go!
Release me from this prison of the mind!
All I know is all I want to know,
Depending on the wisdom of the wind.
Unburden me of words and numbers, please!
Allow me to hang out and do my thing.
To learn best, I should best be at my ease,
In touch with what in life makes my heart sing.
Open up the world so I can see
No further than I need to be just me.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/givem2.html. For more graduation poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/graduationpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Graduation.
May 14: Give Me My Degree and Let Me Go

Friday, May 13, 2016

There Is No Future Good Enough

May 13, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. Since many colleges and universities hold their graduation ceremonies this week, this week’s theme is graduation.

Today’s poem is about college as an idealistic time before one must make compromises with life.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

There is no future good enough
For what we hope to be,
Nor world with windows wide enough
For what we hope to see.

Yet when we turn to compromise
The dreams with which we wake,
We'll glimpse behind a memory
Which we cannot forsake.

How beautiful this time of youth
That is so quickly gone!
We came to learn together, and
In moments we are done.

How long we will remember this
Brief time when life would wait
Upon the true perception that
Comes always far too late.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/there5.html. For more graduation poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/graduationpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Graduation.
May 13: There Is No Future Good Enough

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Grateful for What We Have Learned

May 12, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. Since many colleges and universities hold their graduation ceremonies this week, this week’s theme is graduation.

Today’s poem is about the need for lifelong learning.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Grateful for what we have learned,
Ready now to start
A life in which what we will earn
Depends upon the heart.
Underneath our new degrees
Are habits, knowledge, skill,
That are essential qualities
In anyone who will
One day look back upon this day
Needing learning still.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/grate2.html. For more graduation poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/graduationpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Graduation.
May 12: Grateful for What We Have Learned

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

To the Graduate Who Makes Me Smile

May 11, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. Since many colleges and universities hold their graduation ceremonies this week, this week’s theme is graduation.

Today’s poem is for a graduate from a female friend.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

To the graduate who makes me smile
Or melt away whenever he comes near,
The handsome one, with lovely eyes and hair,
Hearts leaning toward his sunlight all the while:
Even I, who am your friend, lean toward you,
Gripped with pride in all that you have done,
Relishing the compliments you've won,
Alight with all the ways I might reward you.
Draw your own sweet dreams. I wish you well
Upon your graduation and beyond.
And if I could, I'd wave my magic wand
That happiness for you I might compel,
Even as I think what time might tell.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/tothe.html. For more graduation poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/graduationpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Graduation.
May 11: To the Graduate Who Makes Me Smile

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

I Would Be Proud of You, Could I Attend

May 10, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. Since many colleges and universities hold their graduation ceremonies this week, this week’s theme is graduation.

Today’s poem is for a graduate from a deceased parent.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

I would be proud of you, could I attend,
Would I now know the things I'll never know,
Could I have watched you come to comprehend
The wonder of the world in which you grow.
Do not think I did not think of you,
Imagining the beauty of this day,
For I was at your graduation, too,
Though long ago, and in a different way.
Life can be full, no matter short or long,
As long as love can fill it with its grace.
And I have felt such pride, and love so strong,
That you will live your life in my embrace.
So of the pride today I claim my share:
Though I am not, I know that I am there.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/iwoul3.html. For more graduation poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/graduationpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Graduation.
May 10: I Would Be Proud of You, Could I Attend

Monday, May 9, 2016

Alma Maters Nourish More than Mind

May 9, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. Since many colleges and universities hold their graduation ceremonies this week, this week’s theme is graduation.

Today’s poem is about the value of a broad, general education.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Alma maters nourish more than mind:
Light within illuminates the whole,
Making one of multitudes combined,
Allowing each the passion of its soul.

Maybe we'll forget much that we've learned
As we narrow to a single road.
The powers we were given we have earned,
Ever the way blessings are bestowed,
Riches not retained until returned.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/almama.html. For more graduation poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/graduationpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Graduation.
May 9: Alma Maters Nourish More than Mind

Sunday, May 8, 2016

Maybe There's a Hug for You This Morning

May 8, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is motherhood, in honor of Mother’s Day, which falls on May 8.

Today’s poem is about the difficulties and joys of motherhood.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Maybe there’s a hug for you this morning,
Opening your heart to happiness.
The sacrifices are far more than you
Had thought in your worst fantasies you knew,
Exacting more than language can express.
Regardless, you would do again no less
Since joy comes every day with little warning.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/mayb11.html. For more Mother’s Day poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/mothersdaypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Motherhood.
May 8: Maybe There’s a Hug for You This Morning

Saturday, May 7, 2016

Maybe There Are Mothers Without Children

May 7, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is motherhood, in honor of Mother’s Day, which falls on May 8.

Today’s poem is for mothers without children.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Maybe there are mothers without children
On whom this day will smile out of love.
The name, perhaps, is honored by the burden,
However justified, or not, by blood.
Each love of children, even not one's own,
Reverberates throughout this world of stone,
Singing of what nothing else could prove.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/mayb10.html. For more Mother’s Day poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/mothersdaypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Motherhood.
May 7: Maybe There Are Mothers Without Children

Friday, May 6, 2016

Here There Is No Antidote for Longing

May 6, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is motherhood, in honor of Mother’s Day, which falls on May 8.

Today’s poem is about the need to give children space.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Here there is no antidote for longing.
A love like this admits no more or less.
Perhaps that is the price of happiness.
Perhaps love is itself a kind of yearning.
Yet mothers need to temper their desiring,
Making room for those whom they would bless,
On whom they lay the burden of success,
The mirror in which they would see their dancing.
Here one cannot choose to be too choosy.
Each child is a separate universe
Regarding one’s sweet dreams with its own eyes
‘Mid the ancient battleground called love.
So must mothers do their chosen duty,
Deep in love for better or for worse,
And easy in their minds, if they are wise,
Yet with hopes no wisdom can remove.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/heret6.html. For more Mother’s Day poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/mothersdaypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Motherhood.
May 6: Here There Is No Antidote for Longing

Thursday, May 5, 2016

Maybe There's a Sorrow That You Hide

May 5, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is motherhood, in honor of Mother’s Day, which falls on May 8.

Today’s poem is for mothers of miscarried children.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Maybe there’s a sorrow that you hide,
One that never lessens, never leaves,
That sings a lonely counterpoint inside,
Hard to hear but for the one who grieves.
Each child unborn is not therefore unloved,
Redeemed by tears that through dry streambeds move
So quietly the pain can scarcely breathe.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/maybet.html. For more Mother’s Day poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/mothersdaypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Motherhood.
May 5: Maybe There’s a Sorrow That You Hide

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Aunts Are like a Small, Secluded Garden

May 4, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is motherhood, in honor of Mother’s Day, which falls on May 8.

Today’s poem is a Mother’s Day poem for an aunt.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Aunts are like a small, secluded garden,
Untenanted but treasured nonetheless,
Needed most in times of most distress
Though visited at any time a person
Seeks comfort, peace, or just a place to rest.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/aunt3.html. For more poems about other family members, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/familypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Motherhood.
May 4: Aunts Are like a Small, Secluded Garden

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Hard By Happiness Is Always Pain

May 3, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is motherhood, in honor of Mother’s Day, which falls on May 8.

Today’s poem is about how to deal with mixed emotions.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Hard by happiness is always pain.
A child is born in equal hope and fear,
Perhaps because one grieves what one holds dear,
Perhaps because all longing is in vain.
Yet beauty is what mothers stand to gain,
Music none but parents get to hear,
Of which the organ tone is deep and clear,
The best of being, love, that life sustains.
How might one manage well one’s mixed emotions,
Embracing while enduring parenthood,
Retaining the sweet glow of expectation
‘Mid chaos that one knows one must control?
So might one have to rearrange one’s notions,
De-coupling what one wills from what one would,
Allowing love to launder complications,
Yielding slowly to a separate soul.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/hardb2.html. For more Mother’s Day poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/mothersdaypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Motherhood.
May 3: Hard By Happiness Is Always Pain

Monday, May 2, 2016

Mothers Are What Make the Boo-Boos Better

May 2, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is motherhood, in honor of Mother’s Day, which falls on May 8.

Today’s poem is about a mother’s timeless role.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Mothers are what make the boo-boos better,
Overcoming crises with a kiss.
There is no greater burden or delight,
Having as one’s role to make things right,
Even when one may find much amiss.
Remember that such loving lasts forever,
Singing through the silence of each night.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/moth14.html. For more Mother’s Day poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/mothersdaypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Motherhood.
May 2: Mothers Are What Make the Boo-Boos Better

Sunday, May 1, 2016

The Earth Needs Its Defenders

May 1, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is trees, in honor of Arbor Day, which falls on April 29.

Today’s poem is about the need to engage the souls of trees if we would save the Earth.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

The Earth needs its defenders. The long healing
Has just begun, has costs, has enemies,
Is fitful, is here and there, is not assured.
Remember that the patient won’t be cured
Till more of us engage the souls of trees,
Yielding to a deep and ancient feeling.

Those who don’t yet feel it must be lured
With wilderness, with art, with games revealing
Our inner tides, the wash of outer seas.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/theea2.html. For more poems for Earth Day, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/earthdaypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Trees.
April 26: Ashley
April 30: Eleven
May 1: The Earth Needs Its Defenders