You Are Appreciated

You are Appreciated


I once was passive about the plights and responsibilities of the single parent
not knowing, though my mother was one for most of my childhood
Still, I was too young to understand
still caught up in the false ideals of what made man

As time passed I’ve grown older and wiser
I now understand and am grateful with my mother’s accomplishments
The task of a parent alone, is a difficult one
yet the duties of a single parent are never done

They are both, mother and father
they are mentor and friend
For the children, they smile, and the troubles they hide
while at night, all alone, is when they cry

An endless cycle of work with no play
bring forth depression they alone must overcome
With no time for themselves they bear it and grin
yet some go to college to make a better life for their children

They embrace their children in the night when they are sick
and prepare their clothing for the next day
While helping their children with homework or listening to them read a book
some do their own studies and at the same time find time to cook

They alone mold the minds of their offspring
alone they shape productive members of society
Yet with all the despair, the depression and life’s hectic pace
they still find a way to put a smile on their children’s face

The frigid world they live in shun their noble labors
yet they are too busy in life to be concerned
No time for rewards or time for personal fulfillment
the smile of their children is more then sufficient

I put this in writing for all the single parents
and especially my mother who I never had a chance to tell
You are appreciated and some of us do care and understand
for I too, am one. A single parent helped shape this man.


Nov. 21 2001