Earth Family
Don Hynes
Earth Family
The children don’t speak with their mother,
no memory of a decision or why
beyond the usual growing up,
the pains and deprivations of a large family.
She gave them life and nurture,
their home a simple beauty,
yet as they grew
they turned their backs,
ignoring her provision,
her wordless charity
without a thought to replace
what she had given.
They have not her compassion
though each carries her seed.
She ages in loneliness with the rare visit,
few come to admire the old homestead
or the artifacts of her kindness,
just the occasional museum tour
as the children flaunt their importance
and the pride they find in acquisition.
A few of her grandchildren notice
in an innocent way, without invention;
they visit with grandma
eating at her table
with a care for her old house
and love for her eccentricity.
Their parents may never remember
the reality of their birth,
but these little ones seem ready
to carry forward the memory.
She’s given what she had,
relishing her worn implements,
the beauty of her garden
and the fire she yet tends
in the hearth of their Earth home.
Don Hynes