I thought since Mother’s Day is this Sunday, I’d share one of my mom’s poems. I found her poems 10 years ago when my sister N and I were cleaning out her condo in Florida and moving her to an assisted living. She died eight years ago at the age of 91. She would have been 100 this year. Wow-o-wow! Hope she is celebrating her centennial in heaven. I miss her every day.
My mom was a poet and I didn’t know it
My mom wrote poems during the 1940s, when she was in her twenties. Some depict her feelings about the wartime, World War II, to be exact. My uncle N, her brother, went off to war as did many of her male friends and her girlfriends’ boyfriends. Some returned and some didn’t.
These poems are like little treasures. Each one typed on a typewriter, some with handwritten edits. I am careful when I open the folds as the papers are nearly 80 years worn, browned at the edges, words faded. As I read the lines I can picture my mom typing them on an old Smith Corona. The poems are fun with a positive spirit, just like my mom.
My mom’s poems were about her family and friends during the 1940s, including World War II (Mom is first from right)
My mom loved the seashore
“Summer Memories” is one of my favorite poems. It’s especially poignant because it reinforces her love for the seashore — a gift she gave to me and my sister N. It’s why we flock to the ocean when the heat rises in June, July and August. My sister N to the New York beaches and I to the Jersey shore. I’ve also passed down this love to my daughter A and my son D.
My mom was excited when I purchased my “condo on the corner” at the Jersey shore in 2008, shortly after my husband died. She always wished for a house in Long Beach, New York, where we vacationed during my childhood summers. Those were glorious days drizzling sandcastles, chasing waves and eating soggy cream cheese and grape jelly sandwiches for lunch. Ooh, ooh, ooh the Welch’s grape jelly would ooze out from the heat and turn my fingers dark purple. My mom said salt water from the ocean cured everything, even purple fingers. And it did.
My mom passed on a love of the seashore to me
Sharing one of my mom’s poems
I hope this poem by my mom (whose name is Pearl) reminds you of your own summer memories and sparks new ones for 2021. May you find peace and calm this summer season, get to see your family and friends after a tough winter, and enjoy the outdoors.
My mom wrote “Summer Memories” when she was twenty-something
Summer Memories by Pearl
Thanks for the memories,
Of Winter, Spring and Fall,
But Summer most of all,
We did have fun,
But now it’s done
And back to work we crawl
With loads of regrets.
Thanks for the memories,
Of a World’s Fair made in sand,
of Eli getting canned,
Of Florie’s rages,
Martha’s wagers,
Bracelets of rubber bands
How lovely they were.
Gertie came back with a sunburn,
And that was when Lennie started teezing
Tho everyone else thought it pleasing
He tried his best,
To be a pest.
So thanks for the memories,
Of Coney in the rain,
Missing a Rockaway train,
Sir John was a bore,
His jokes were so raw,
We thought he was insane,
We just didn’t care.
Many’s the time that we argue,
And many’s the time that we say things
Tho we only mean them as gay things
Some think they’re not smart
And take them to heart.
So thanks for the memories,
Of Boardwalk strolls at night
Of Billie, what a sight!
Of sunburn faces
Museums and places
No wind to fly a kite,
So thank you so much.
Remember the time we went dancing,
Remember the time we went rowing,
Tho we didn’t think we were going,
We hadn’t enough,
So one boat not he cuff.
So thanks for the memories,
Of all our Summer crushes,
And Gertie’s “Fuller Brushes”
We won’t forget,
This summer yet,
In Winter’s snows and slushes,
So thank you so much.
Have a “Happy Mother’s Day!”
Judi
A note to my email subscribers and those who would like to become subscribers:
Hopefully all who subscribe to my blog received my email message this week about my new subscriber service. Due to changes with Google, I have switched to MailChimp. It is a more robust service and will allow me to better communicate with my blog community.
I hope if you are a current subscriber that you received this blog post without a hitch. If not, please LMK by leaving a comment or contacting me through my blog contact page.
If you would like to become a subscriber to my blog and receive each post in your inbox, you can find the registration box on the sidebar of my homepage at aboomerslifeafter50.com
A survey for my readers
Along with my subscriber service changes, I’m asking for some feedback from my readers. If you have time please take a few minutes and complete my readership survey. I cherish my readers and hope to continue to provide interesting, informative and inspiring content to you. Thanks in advance for participating in this survey. Click below to participate:
I wonder if you would have come across your mother’s poetry if it had been written on a PC. Being able to find an old piece of paper where she typed is a gift. I see a familial resemblance in you and your mother. Maybe it’s the salt water in both of your veins.
Suzanne, so true with the online world. I feel like all will be lost especially with all the digital images we don’t print out anymore. P.S. I do look a lot like my mom.
What a lovely legacy your mom left for you.
Thanks Kathy. My mom’s poems are a blessing.
Reader D said: “Oh, Judi, this post is so heartwarming! Your mother was beautiful AND talented! I can see where you get your writing gift from. Her poem reminds me just a little bit of the song lyrics to Kate & Anna McGarrigle’s “Saratoga Summer Song” (one of my favorites!). It describes a summer they spent on vacation in Saratoga Springs.”
Hi Judy! Thanks for the wonderful blogs. I enjoy reading them during my free time for quite some time now. I’m a representative of an advocate of menopausal treatment and overall women’s wellness. I am tasked to reach out to reputable organizations or individuals who share the same goal as her, empowering Women for Women. As an award-winning lifestyle blogger and social media influencer, your platform is tailor-fitted for her advocacy. I highly appreciate your great contribution in partaking invaluable and relevant information, especially to the women’s community. In that sense, is there a possible way to contribute her well-researched paper as a contributor to your already wide collection of blogs? She would love the idea of sharing her personal experiences and prized research that aims to improve the accessibility of menopause treatments and improve the lives of so many women. I’ll be happy to discuss with you the terms at your convenience. If you happen to have any questions, please let me know.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
Tony
Tony, Thanks for your note. I’ve responded directly to your email.