In the UK, Mother’s Day will be held on Sunday, March 11.
It is usual to send your mum, or maternal guardian, a card – and buy her some flowers or chocolates if you’re feeling flush.
But if you want to tell your mum how much she really means to you, why not do with one of these poems, inspirational quotes or messages…
Mother’s Day poems
My Mother, Ann Taylor, 1782-1866
Who sat and watched my infant head
When sleeping on my cradle bed,
And tears of sweet affection shed?
My Mother.
When pain and sickness made me cry,
Who gazed upon my heavy eye,
And wept for fear that I should die?
My Mother.
Who taught my infant lips to pray
And love God’s holy book and day,
And walk in wisdom’s pleasant way?
My Mother.
And can I ever cease to be
Affectionate and kind to thee,
Who wast so very kind to me,
My Mother?
Ah, no! the thought I cannot bear,
And if God please my life to spare
I hope I shall reward they care,
My Mother.
When thou art feeble, old and grey,
My healthy arm shall be thy stay,
And I will soothe thy pains away,
My Mother.
Sonnets Are Full of Love, Christina Rossetti, 1830-1894
Sonnets are full of love, and this my tome
Has many sonnets: so here now shall be
One sonnet more, a love sonnet, from me
To her whose heart is my heart’s quiet home,
To my first Love, my Mother, on whose knee
I learnt love-lore that is not troublesome;
Whose service is my special dignity,
And she my loadstar while I go and come
And so because you love me, and because
I love you, Mother, I have woven a wreath
Of rhymes wherewith to crown your honoured name:
In you not fourscore years can dim the flame
Of love, whose blessed glow transcends the laws
Of time and change and mortal life and death.
Mother O’Mine, Rudyard Kipling, 1865-1936
If I were hanged on the highest hill,
Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine!
I know whose love would follow me still,
Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine!
If I were drowned in the deepest sea,
Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine!
I know whose tears would come down to me,
Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine!
If I were damned of body and soul,
I know whose prayers would make me whole,
Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine!
I love Me Mudder, Benjamin Zephaniah, 1980-present
I love me mudder and me mudder love me
we come so far from over de sea
we heard dat de streets were paved with gold
sometime it hot sometime it cold,
I love me mudder and me mudder love me
we try fe live in harmony
you might know her as Valerie
but to me she is mummy.
She shouts at me daddy so loud some time
she stays fit and she don’t drink wine
she always do the best she can
she work damn hard ina England,
She’s always singing some kind of song
she have big muscles and she very very strong,
she likes pussy cats and she love cashew nuts
she don’t bother with no ifs and buts.
I love me mudder and me mudder love me
we come so far from over de sea
we heard dat de streets were paved with gold
sometime it hot sometime it cold,
I love her and she love me too
and dis is a love I know is true
my family unit extends to you
loving each other is the ting to do
Mother’s Day quotes
“A mother’s arms are more comforting than anyone else’s.” Princess Diana
“All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.” Abraham Lincoln
“Mothers hold their children’s hands for a short while, but their hearts forever.” Unknown.
“Whatever else is unsure in this stinking dunghill of a world a mother’s love is not.” James Joyce
“My mother… she is beautiful, softened at the edges and tempered with a spine of steel. I want to grow old and be like her.” Jodi Picoult
“If love is sweet as a flower, then my mother is that sweet flower of love.” Stevie Wonder
“God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers.” Jewish Proverb
“Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother.” Oprah Winfrey
Mother’s Day messages
May your day be as wonderful and perfect as you are. Happy Mother’s Day!
“Happy Mother’s Day, Mama. Every day, I thank heaven you’re mine.”
“You’re my one and only mom (mum), and I’ll always have a special place in my heart for you.”
