A Poem in Memory of My Mother

 

Mary Koziski Drabik

February 24, 1918--January 5, 2017

 

My mother Mary--or Manya as her parents called her--was the daughter of Polish immigrants who came to America in the early part of the 20th century. My mother came from a close-knit family. The eldest of four children--two daughters and two sons--she was the last of all her siblings and cousins to pass away. She was one tough old gal who was well loved and admired by everyone who knew her.

 

My mother was devoted to her family. She doted on my father. She took care of my daughter Sara so I could return to teaching. She also helped care for her parents and her mother-in-law when they were elderly. She was always busy doing things for others in order to make their lives better.

 

My mom passed away on the evening of January 5th surrounded by her loved ones. We all miss her terribly.

 

For more than a decade, my husband and I hosted a family gathering in celebration of Mom's birthday. On Sunday, we plan to gather again to celebrate my mother's life...and to share happy memories of our lives with her.

 

I had wanted to read a poem by Christina Rossetti at my mother's funeral--but knew I wouldn't be able to share it without coming to tears. I'd like to share that poem this Poetry Friday with all of my kidlit blogging friends.

 

[Sonnets are full of love, and this my tome]

By Christina Rossetti

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 honored 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.

 

 

 

 

 





 My Mother's Last Mother's Day (2016)

Love you, Mom, You will always live in my heart!

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Head on over to Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup to read her interview with me...and to find out more about my first book THINGS TO DO:

[author chat + recipe + giveaway] Things to Do by Elaine Magliaro and Catia Chien

 

Karen Edmisten has the Poetry Friday Roundup at her blog this week.

 

 

 

 

 

 



ALL THE WONDERS Podcast Interview with Matthew Winner

Last week, Matthew Winner of All the Wonders interviewed me about THINGS TO DO. We talked about my book, the best ways to teach children how to write poetry, the importance of children going outside and observing the world around them, and the wonderful feeling of getting something out of my head and onto the page. We discussed Catia Chien's gorgeous illustrations for the book. In addition, I talked about Grace Lin and Janet Wong--two good friends who have always been there for me when I needed help and advice.

http://www.allthewonders.com/podcasts/elaine-magliaro-all-the-wonders-episode-325/

 

 

Over at Seven Impossible Things, Julie Danielson is highlighting three of Catia Chien's beautiful illustrations from my book THINGS TO DO.

Julie also wrote about THINGS TO DO being an excellent book to use in the classroom as a creative writing prompt over at Kirkus earlier this week..

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Katie has the Poetry Friday Roundup over at The Logonauts.