Give Me My Mother, Not Gold! Poem by Padmore Enyonam Agbemabiese

You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
You may be richer than I can be -
But I have a mother nobler than thee
Richer than caskets of jewels

Let me say it over and over and over
The bravest battles ever fought!
Tell me where and when they were fought.
And I will sing of who fought and died in them
On maps of the world you will find them not;
They were fought by the mothers of men.

They fought, not with cannons and missiles of battle-shouts,
Nor with swords and noble pens in men’s hands
They fought from the deep side of a woman's heart
And they gave their lives and love to the children they bear

Every woman is a mother
Every mother is a fighter for the child she knows
From babyhood to the grave, it is the mother
Who fights on and on in endless wars with her child,
Toddling and walking and running along on playgrounds
Nestling in her arms her sleeping baby
She yields not to the aches and pains she knows
Till the child grows to be a man of honor
She is as faithful as a bridge of stars to the child

There are treasures on earth, that make life seem worthwhile,
But there's none to compare to a mother's smile
The kingliest victories of floral basket men have
Are the fruits of those silent sweats of mothers
You remember those selfish moods of yours when a baby
Your blind sense of wrong and pain
You do remember the tears she shed to save you, the heart
Of purest gold and eyes with love-light shining she offers

Let the moon beam bringing you dreams
Dreams of that wonderful mother
Let the birds sing of anything splendid
But hold a spot down deep in your heart,
And crown her as your spotless woman
Remember her till the stars no longer shine
Through the fields of time in your time
For there'll never be another mother
Like that wonderful Mother of yours


HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY