Friday, August 29, 2014
Poetry Friday -- Retro Post
I'M YOUR MOM
I'm your mom when you're in school.
I mom you sharply when you're cruel.
I mom you gently when you're hurt.
I mom the buttons on your shirt!
(I mom the music teacher's tie.)
I always mom you when you cry.
(I mom the plants on the windowsill.)
I mom you when you're feeling ill.
I'll never be your mom at home.
I'll never see what you'll become.
I'll never tuck you into bed,
Never hold your feverish head.
But I'm your mom when you're in school
And I'll mom you into shape with rules
Because I love you like you're mine...
I hope your real mom doesn't mind!
©Mary Lee Hahn, 2011
This poem first appeared on the blog in April of 2011, but besides linking to it in a post this week, and sharing it with my current students, I have connected with several students from former classes this week, and my heart is filled with joy that they carry good memories of being in my 5th grade class. As I set out on the year's journey with a group who won't be sharing memories or stories of influence for 7+ years, it's good to be hearing from these former students!
Jone has the Poetry Friday roundup this week at Check it Out.
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This is a beautiful poem and so true! We hold our teachers' voices in our heads, just like we hold our moms' and dads' voices...forever. I am off to share this beautiful school year opener. Wonderful wishes to you and your new chicks! xo
ReplyDeleteI read this and think instantly of my sixth graders, some of whom slip from time to time and call me "mom"...a different kind of mom!
ReplyDeleteI love the use of "mom" as a verb and the way the poem evolves from specific examples of "momming" through a bit of regret in stanza 3 to the reason behind it all in the humorous conclusion. I bet your students enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteTerrific use of "mom" as a verb! I always feel blessed when my child is in such capable hands.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this! I can relate--when I taught elementary school, I always thought of my students as my "kids." So thankful that my boys have been blessed with "moms" like this!
ReplyDeleteLove, love this poem! Ditto to what others have said about the use of "mom" as a verb. The sentiment expressed throughout is wonderful. Lucky students!
ReplyDeleteHappy new school year to everyone who is attending/working at/involved with a school!
ReplyDelete"Because I love you like you're mine..." sums up how I feel about all my former students. It's why I don't give their beginning of 6th grade quilt square back to them. I love looking back at all their 6th grade faces and selves captured forever on the cusp of becoming an adolescent.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful poem, Mary Lee! When I taught I "mommed" my students. It helped me (and hopefully them) as I waited to become a mom. Perfect poem to start the school year. Thanks for re-releasing it. = )
ReplyDeleteThat's lovely. If I were still teaching in the classroom, I'd use that with them.
ReplyDeleteMy students often call me "Mom," and I tell them I love it because I am their mom at school. Love how you expressed this with such a rhythmic poem.
ReplyDeleteWe really do "mom" them, don't we? Thanks for sharing your lovely poem!
ReplyDeleteMary Lee, you just keep on momming those little chicks! Love this so much. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteIt's a beautiful thought, Mary Lee. I am connected to many of my former students, am so proud of them in their 'later' lives. I'll share with my colleagues, will be like a big hug to them!
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful thoughts Mary Lee. I hope the little people in my life get to have mom-teachers like you.
ReplyDeleteI like the way the poem circles back to repeat some of the lines from the first stanza in the last. That gives it a nice sense of being complete.
I so love poems written from the teacher's perspective - always good to share with my own teacher-trainees here in Singapore. Love the warmth and tough love here. :)
ReplyDeleteMuch appreciated, speaking as an out-of-school parent of one of those in-school kids :)
ReplyDeleteAww, I love this.
ReplyDeleteI mom you when I share a poem--
ReplyDeletein case you don't get one at hoem!
Again, ML, you've gifted me with something I want to put in every colleague's mailbox. What's that next book you're working on again? : )
This is lovely, Mary Lee, and describes exactly how we feel about our students. Thanks so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful poem!
ReplyDelete