Who We Are (poem; re-post)

This a re-post for the Moms and Dads of Gather. I was requested by Gather friends to post some poems from Mama Stew, the anthology in which I have five poems, and this is one of them....

*************************************

You find us
At home and in the world
in the rocking chair and on the computer
in the kitchen and in commerce

We are the keepers of lost socks and hearts
the menders of torn clothing and quarrels
the unravelers of tangles
the go-betweens

We are the guardians of justice
the solvers of problems great and small
the advocates for our children
at school, court, and doctor's office

We are the lullaby singers, the storytellers,
the historians, the scrap bookers
the purveyors of meaning,
the teachers of sense and sensitivity

We are the clock watchers
the jugglers of schedules
the managers of entrances and exits

We are the great givers and the great deniers
keepers of the purse and permission slips
performers and delegators of necessary
chores, jobs and homework

We are the organizers of thousands
of everyday meals
as well as great feasts and celebrations
to nourish bodies and souls

We are the carriers of burdens and protest signs
the planters of seeds and ideas
the clean sweepers

We are the oak beams, the poles, the rafters
holding up the walls, the ceilings, the roof
over the family, the race, the species

And we are the great flexible willows
who bend over backwards
rise to the occasion
bend and rise again
in fulfillment of a great task

****************************


First published in Mama Stew, An Anthology: Reflections and Observations on Mothering, edited by Elisabeth Rotchford Haight and Sylvia Platt, Mama Stew Press, 2002. It is available on Amazon.com for $.40 at the time of this posting.