"The Mother" is a war poem by English poet May Herschel-Clarke.
The Mother[]
"The Mother" by May Herschel-Clarke
If you should die, think only this of me
In that still quietness where is space for thought,
Where parting, loss and bloodshed shall not be,
And men may rest themselves and dream of nought:
That in some place a mystic mile away
One whom you loved has drained the bitter cup
Till there is nought to drink; has faced the day
Once more, and now, has raised the standard up.
And think, my son, with eyes grown clear and dry
She lives as though for ever in your sight,
Loving the things you loved, with heart aglow
For country, honour, truth, traditions high,
— Proud that you paid their price. (And if some night
Her heart should break — well, lad, you will not know.)
About[]
Herschel-Clarke wrote "The Mother" after reading, and in answer to, Rupert Brooke's 1914 sonnet, "The Soldier". It takes the point of view of Brooke's speaker's mother, whose son is fighting in the war.
"The Mother" has the same sonnet form as "The Soldier."
"The Mother" was printed in Herschel-Clarke's 1917 collection, Behind the Firing Line, and other poems.
See also[]
This poem is in the public domain