05 May 2014

Mother and Daughter






She wore a white
sheet toga-pinned
and sarong-cinched—
though she wouldn't
know those terms
until years later—
to play bride and
hostess and
goddess and
princess and
wonder woman’s
amazon island sisters. 

Mother sat on
the steps to draw
her in charcoal
and crayon,
putting gentle
waves in her
baby-blonde hair
rather than the
truer snarls and
tangles that came
with cramped living
and depressed moods.

The ten-year old
frowned at her shape
in the colored
portrait.  It didn't
match Shirley-Temple-
Story-Hour fantasies
of bell-shaped
gowns and narrow
waistlines but more
her baby-dolls
and Teddy Bears.

The sheet had failed
but the drawing 
was mother’s love.
She sketched two girls
that day—not one—
facing each other
in flower crowns
and silk veil-curtains 
transformed
by the sweetness
of their time
together.


Posted for my prompt at Poets United: Midweek Motif ~ Children.
This prompt will open Wednesday Morning at 7 am EST.



Copyright © 2014  S.L.Chast 



19 comments:

  1. it's interesting how we see ourselves - and how others see us - and how a loving mother interprets what she sees on a sheet of paper...

    ReplyDelete
  2. mothers see us often for who we could be more than who we are...if only we could see ourselves through the same lens....smiles.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Extremely beautiful, and so touching. I love that the mother "sketched two girls that day."

    ReplyDelete
  4. Aww, Susan... I love this... the skewed self-image offset by a mother's loving eyes.

    ReplyDelete
  5. ah...the mother's eyes and her love...what a beautiful sketch of words and lines

    ReplyDelete
  6. This has a dream-like quality to it... Just beautiful! *sighs*

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a poem of love this is. How wonderful to have a mother with the talent of drawing. You have captured a very touching experience with your words.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Susan,

    A very lovely bond and relationship with mother/daughter captured so well in many dimensions in your poem.
    The sketch displays the wording so accurately:)

    Eileen

    ReplyDelete
  9. I enjoyed the scene you painted for us, Susan. I am sure you are glad you still have the sketch.

    ReplyDelete
  10. beautiful so tender yet so strong in the natural bond of love and relationship

    ReplyDelete
  11. I like it! Hope that came from a memory somewhere!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'd forgotten about the dressing up days when you are ten.
    and a mother's love and foresight, buying three pastel coloured long nightdresses for Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and whoever else was in vogue amongst my friends at the time. at sleep-overs.
    Nice to be reminded by such a lovely poem.

    ReplyDelete
  13. The mirror of our girls in our eyes a beautiful picture that will one day be reflected in their eyes.I love the drawing and the story it tells.

    ReplyDelete
  14. This is beautiful, Susan. I remembered all the dress-up times.

    ReplyDelete
  15. This really comes alive..i suppose all of us may be a little surprised if we were to be drawn..i hope in later years she saw how beautiful both the act and the image were..

    ReplyDelete
  16. What a lovely memento to still have from your childhood. A beautiful drawing through a mother's eyes.

    ReplyDelete
  17. A tender "memory"; a connection. Beautifully conveyed; the way a mother would see it! Thank you, Susan.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Touching reflection...and your response then was just appropriate for your level of self-knowing...~ Lovely poem.xx

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting my blog!