Mother's Day Blog Tour

Mother’s Day – Twitter Chats Blog Tour

Welcome to the Twitter Chats Blog Tour, organized by Mari Juniper at Mari’s Randomities and Anne Tyler Lord at Don’t Fence Me In. Today's theme is Mother's Day.



You'll be traveling with us through the blogs of some of the fantastic authors and writers who participate in our weekly -- funny, entertaining and educating -- Twitter chats. This tour will feature writers from #writechat, #litchat, and #fridayflash.

You will be directed to your next stop at the end of this post. Please feel welcome here, and have a happy Mother's Day!

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This is a celebration of a mother whose dedication and faith set the stage for one of the most influential people in the history of Western thought and civilization. If she had been a less attentive and caring mother, the world would be a very different place today.

Dedication: to my mother, my mother-in-law, the mother of my children, and the mothers of my nieces and nephews. I love you all.

Note: This will be much better if you read it out loud. Go ahead, no one's watching you.

~~~~~~~

Don't Give Up On Him, Ma

by Tony Noland

There once was a woman of Rome,
Who lived in a difficult home.
Monica’s spouse,
Patricius (that louse),
Would bellow and scream, all a’foam.

Husbands in that brutal age
Would violent tempers assuage
By striking their wives
With sticks (or with knives!)
Thus venting and spending their rage.

But unlike the wives all around,
Monica, standing her ground,
With Christian respect,
These rages deflect,
‘til Jesus Patricius had found.

She bore him two sons and a daughter,
Two of whom went as they ought to.
But her younger son
Wanted nothing but fun.
He went for the wine (not the water).

Monica wept and she plead,
That her boy would stop taking to bed
Girls of loose mores,
Those trollops and whores,
Symptoms of life, badly led.

She went to the bishop to ask
His help with bringing to task.
Ambrose said, “Wait;
Augustine’s fate
Is not to live slurping a cask.”

When Augustine’s mistress departed,
The young man was quite broken-hearted,
The mother said, “Boy,
Come into God’s joy,
From Him you will never be parted.”

At Monica’s pleas, never slaking,
Augustine, reverent and quaking,
Did kneel at the font,
Baptism, his wont,
Arose, great work undertaking.

So did this mother devoted
Give life to a scholar so noted.
St. Monica’s tears,
Her sorrows and fears,
Can sing triumph, with voice all full-throated.

~~~~~~~

Thanks for stopping by! Your next stop for the Mother's Day Twitter Chats Blog Tour is How Did You Get There, hosted by Kristi Thompson. Feel free to read and comment at any of the stops on the tour!

You say you want the complete list of participants and their Twitter handles? Say no more!

Anne Tyler Lord of Don't Fence Me In -- @annetylerlord (co-host of Twitter Chats Blog Tour)

Mari Juniper of Mari's Randomities -- @marirandomities (co-host of Twitter Chats Blog Tour)

Jon Strother of Mad Utopia -- @jmstro (creator of #FridayFlash)

Carolyn Burns Bass of Ovations -- @carolyburnsbass (creator of #LitChat)

Marisa Birns of Out Of Order Alice -- @marisabirns

Jemi Fraser of Just Jemi -- @jemifraser

Deanna Schrayer of The Other Side of Deanna -- @deannaschrayer

Phyl Good of Bookishgal -- @kashicat

Laura Eno of A Shift In Dimensions -- @lauraeno

Susan Gottfried of West Of Mars -- @westofmars

Tony Noland of Landless -- @TonyNoland

Kristi Thompson of How Did You Get There --@howdidyougetthere

Angie Capozello of Techtiggers' Soapbox -- @techtigger

Donna Carrick of Donna's Blog -- @donna_carrick

P.J. Kaiser of Inspired By Real Life -- @doublelattemama

Happy Mother's Day!

19 comments:

  1. What a wonderful poem! You're right, it is best read out loud. A Happy Mother's Day to you... ;)

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  2. Thanks, this was fun to write.

    Happy Mother's Day!

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  3. Rollicking, rolling and really big fun. I loved your dedication, too.

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  4. Yes, I read it aloud and frolicked through the words. Very entertaining :-)

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  5. Way to go, Tony, I loved this! A serious message rolled into a rip-roaring limerick!
    And yes, without Augustus' ever-faithful mother, the world would definitely be a lesser place today.
    Donna

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  6. You're right Tony - it is best read out loud. What a great poem, and such a sweet dedication.

    Love it!

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  7. Your writing is so cool, no matter what format. :)

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  8. Thanks, guys! Happy Mother's Day!

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  9. Great piece Tony, you got me smiling throughout it. :D I love the invitation to read out loud too. ;)

    And they say rhymes are a no go. phaw!

    Thanks for putting a complete list as well. It can always be helpful.

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  10. I just LOVE that poem!It is excellent in so many ways.

    You are one cool dude! The women in your family will be very proud, and entertained this Mother's Day.

    Thanks for entire listing of participants

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  11. I did read it aloud because poetry is best that way.

    Loved it!

    And the word "trollops" should be resurrected in today's everyday speech. So tired of the rappers with their 'hos'

    Enjoyed sharing this blog tour with you. :)

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  12. Mari, Anne, Marisa: Thanks! They say the limerick is a low form of poetry, but I've always been rather fond of low humor, so...

    I have to laugh about everyone's reaction to "trollop". It makes me think of those jokes, like "You know you're a writer if you unconsciously use phrases that aren't in common parlance."

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  13. Wonderful! And you were right, even better when read aloud, though I did get a couple of funny looks!

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  14. Thanks, Sam. Poetry almost always sounds better when read aloud, funny looks or no.

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  15. This was a great post, and you've got a great talent here! And it was a great tribute to Monica.

    Even if I think Augustine injected his own personal hangups into his teachings and called them divine doctrines (much like Freud did with psychoanalysis), there's no doubt that Monica was an uplifting and encouraging influence in his life.

    Great poem!

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  16. Excellent, Tony. I bet it was fun to write. I love that you chose the limerick form to write it.

    Great fun, sir. Happy Mother's Day. :)

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  17. I love the poem, Tony! Very creative and clever! I'm going to share it with my husband, the religious scholar of our house - I'm sure he will enjoy it!

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  18. What a fun turn in the Mother's Day blog tour. Loved the rhymes and tribute.

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