For Our Mother
Notice. Attend. Treasure. Understand. Restore. Embrace.
A Mother’s Day love letter to the only Mother we all share—Nature.
In the pre-dawn hours, you beckoned me with a prelude by Barred Owls.
Then the sunrise chorus began: Cardinals, Chickadees, Doves, Geese, Goldfinches, Purple Martins, Vireos, Warblers, Waxwings, Wrens, and more. A joyful symphony of birdsong.
As sunshine warmed the treetops and blossoms unfolded, my yard burst into color so vibrant I could taste it. Azaleas in every hue—deep pink, coral, lavender, pale blush. Rhododendrons flashing red-violet. Peonies—cerise with lemon-yellow centers, bubblegum doubles, or white blooms with ruby hearts. Almost-black bearded iris. Royal Siberian cousins. Sunny yellow siblings. Columbines in raspberry and blueberry. Impatiens from purest white to scarlet. Trailing verbena in blended blush and red. Sun-loving vinca in pale peach and boysenberry. Begonias in bright juicy orange and marshmallow white. Lantana like tequila sunrise with portulaca reflecting it like confetti. Wine-and-roses weigela. Cotoneaster studded with snowflake-like blossoms. A full gallery of green—ferns and hosta, lily-of-the-valley and ornamental grasses, deciduous trees and evergreen arms—layers of leaf and light.
A floral feast for the senses
Sights, scents, and sounds woven into a rapturous tapestry of life—each thread distinct, yet made more vibrant and vital by the others.
In this half-acre haven, bees, birds, and blossoms remind us of what is possible when we cherish diversity.
In Nature, interdependence is the only way to survive. From bee to blossom, root to rock, fin to feather-life supports life.
When we honor each other's distinct gifts, life flourishes in all its forms and flourishing becomes possible for all.
Stillness breathes in the hush of shade and trickling water
Though I do not claim the moniker, mother, I celebrate this day with my hands in the soil and my face to the sun as I whisper a prayer of eternal gratitude into the morning air.
While society frays with division and destruction, Nature remains steady—whether or not we pay attention.
We are not masters of this Earth. We are part of it.
And I am comforted by that.
Let us honor the two original and eternal parents of all on earth: Mother Nature and Father Time.
Today, I celebrate HER day.
Thank you, Nature.
I love you with my heart and soul, and in my word and deed.
Softness leads the way.
To the first and forever Mother: Nature
(a poetic offering)
Hands of soil,
Tears of rain,
Breath of sky,
Warmth of sun.
On this Mother’s Day,
I choose not to mourn absence—
but to honor presence.
Presence of earth, to root seed and stone.
Presence of breeze, to carry the perfume of honey locust and wild rose.
Presence of rain, to quench thirsty root and cleanse dust from pollen-dusted leaves.
I have not borne children.
But I have borne witness—
To budding and blooming,
To decay and return.
To the quiet pulse of life in every season.
To You, Mother of All—
I offer thanks.
With every trowelful of soil, I plant gratitude.
With every leaf and blossom, I affirm your beauty.
With every creature I comfort, I feel our kinship.
I wish no legacy. My name is unimportant.
May my acts of motherly love toward Nature honor my roots;
in harmony with what was here before, and will remain long after.
Mother Nature meets Father time.
If something in these words moved you, please pass it on. Let it ripple outward, like birdsong at dawn, seeds on the wind, or waves toward a setting sun.
