A Ballad for Stabat Mater

I've written a poem for Mothering Sunday, or Mother's Day as it is commercially known. I've posted it over on 'My Poetry Library'.


The poem "A Ballad for Stabat Mater" struck me on several levels. I had already written a poem for my son's thirtieth birthday ("The Fourth Age of Man"), basing it on William Shakespeare's "Seven Ages of Man" (a monologue, which he wrote to open his play, "As You Like It"). Incidentally, I found it particularly poignant to note that my son had reached the same age as Jesus Christ was alleged to be, when his own mortal life ended. So, the latter never had the chance to taste the next three ages or, perhaps, he lived all seven in that short life span?


Anyway, I found my Mother's Day poem, written in the form of a ballad, again influenced not only by Shakespeare's "Seven Ages of Man" but also the Stabat Mater, the unforgettable and extraordinarily moving image of this religious icon, Mary, the mother of of all mothers, as she stood and watched her own son die, painfully. "Stabat mater dolorosa", meaning the sorrowful mother stood, is a masterful understatement. How many mothers could submit themselves to such unbelievable pain! And yet all mothers do, albeit mostly to a lesser extreme, for as long as they live.


I salute all mothers, however good or bad a mother you may think you are, you have still had to suffer for your children.


I hope you enjoy the poem.