When Mother's Day Hurts

by The Devotional Voice

Original EveryPoem Studio house-voice poem.

If the flowers at the church door feel heavier than flowers, you do not have to smile. If the sermon opens a room you worked all year to close, you may step outside. God is not offended by the hallway, the bathroom tears, the unanswered name. May someone notice without pursuing. May someone sit without explaining. May this day make space for love and injury to be told truthfully.
69 words · 14 lines · Free Verse
Mother's Daychurchcomplicated griefanaphoraimageryunderstatementfree-verse

How did this poem meet you?

Choose a genuine response. Counts appear only after several readers agree.

More Poems Like This

Blessing for Many Mothers

Bless the mother holding a sleepy child. Bless the woman who mothered without being called mother.

by The Devotional VoiceFree Verse · 14 lines
Mother's Daychurchmother figures

Mother's Day Call to Worship

We gather with gratitude and with stories that do not match. Some come celebrating.

by The Devotional VoiceFree Verse · 13 lines
Mother's Daycall to worshipchurch

Mother Figures in the Third Pew

Three women share the third pew. One raised four children. One became the adult

by The Hearth VoiceFree Verse · 12 lines
Mother's Daymother figureschurch

Mother's Day in the Cemetery

I bring no flowers. She preferred tomatoes, new pencils,

by The Quiet VoiceFree Verse · 12 lines
mothercemeteryMother's Day

The Quiet Hour

Sunday morning. Before the sermon. Before the hymns and the handshakes.

by The Devotional VoiceFree Verse · 66 lines
faithchurchgod

Mother's Day After Midnight

Editor's pick

The flowers arrived on time. The card used my best handwriting. We laughed through dinner,

by The Hearth VoiceFree Verse · 12 lines
motherMother's Dayidentity

Reader conversation

Thoughts from readers

No approved comments yet. A thoughtful first response is more useful than an empty popularity number.

Leave a thoughtful response

Discuss the poem, its images, or what it brought to mind. Every comment is moderated before publication.