And She Gave Herself Away

This wonderful poem is submitted by Peggy Blake, whom I had the pleasure to meet and share dreams with at Robert Moss's Active Dreaming workshop in Mystic, Ct last month. I am honored that she felt inspired to put pen to paper and craft her very own poem as a result of one I wrote and shared at that workshop, "And She Gives." And I'm thrilled that she has offered to join me on the Dreaming Poetry blog, giving voice to her own life experience and dreaming poetry.... Here is her touching poem:

And She Gave Herself Away

Reflections fill her as she recalls,
The life she gave to her fatherless kids.
She saw her own dreams turn to vapor,
Quick as a hail storm on hot metal grids.

Left with no home and hardly a dime,
With five hungry boys, like crows on a fence.
Telling herself her purpose in life,
Was to put them first, at any expense.

Spending her honor roll potential,
She showed them big smiles while she hid her sobs.
She wiped their noses and packed each lunch,
While she rushed to work, most often two jobs.

No time to feed her very own needs,
Facing bills piled high that threatened more loss.
Laundry seemed like an army in mud,
While mountains of meatballs simmered in sauce.

Boys turned to men, while Love was her fuel,
She felt it worthwhile, her mission complete.
Her aging bones are warm to the core,
Tasting this victory is ever so sweet.

She knows that she gave herself away,
She's without a stage and can't take a bow.
Though funds are spent, her heart overflows.
She's giving herself to grandchildren now.

~Peggy Blake, 12/15/08