This is a collection of poems written by my mother. |
My mother, Marie Pearl Newland, was born on March 19, 1921 on a farm outside of Juma, Oklahoma, to Frank Spencer Newland and his wife Mary Florence Chaplin. Grandpa said that Mom was so small he could hold her in one hand. The doctor did not expect Mama to survive, but she did. My mother did not begin writing poems until she was in her early eighties. I am not sure when she stopped writing, but I suspect it had something to do with the Alzheimer's disease. This collection contains her poems. A Note Written by My Mother: An essay I originally written in 2012 I opened my mother’s prayer book a several weeks ago and found a note she had written before the doctor diagnosed her with Alzheimer’s disease. She hadn’t dated the note, but I know it was written sometime before 2009. The note read, “I want to live to be 100 years old and still be in good health.” I cried. I knew Mom wanted to live to be 100, but I don’t know she wrote that goal down. I put the note back in the prayer book, closed it, and got my prayer book and read the Long Healing prayer revealed by Baha’u’llah. The note and my mother’s present physical conditions have played on my mind for several days. I don’t know if Mom will live to reach 100; I know that if she does live that long she won’t be in good health either physically or mentally. Fortunately, Mom doesn’t realize that she has Alzheimer’s disease and that she is in poor physical health. If she did she would be devastated, I know this because I made the mistake of mentioning the doctor’s diagnosis once. Mom became angry and wouldn’t believe me. I’m much more careful about what I say to her now. However, the note is still playing on my mind. I don’t know if I should remove the note from the prayer book and then tear the note to shreds or leave it where it is. Perhaps I should frame it and hang it above my computer to remind myself that no matter what a person wants or how much a person plan, that sometimes... most of the time things don’t turn out as desired or expected. The only thing an individual can do is place every situation in God’s hands and get on with the task of living. |
#24. Mom's Advice On How To Write Meaningful Poetry
ID #952069 entered on February 15, 2019 at 8:08pm |