Triad

Maid

You see me now in youth and glory

You see me fresh and free of worry

Will future bliss be my ascension,

Or will my life just give me friction?

I stand here on the threshold wary

But who can say that life will tarry?

No, I must wait and pray and please

To find a friend, to live in ease

Mother

To each his own, and thus flows life through gentle vessel

Casket, critic, savage guardian, still gives quiet space to nestle

Gentle mirror of tradition, tutor too to help awaken

Triad’s triad ne’er forsaken

Ugly, Old, or poor and sickly, I can notably inspire

Young in beauty – rich in power, without reason, wouldn’t tire 

Secrets shelter, secrets darken, secrets wither and conspire

Still, the circle has no ending – giving life but to expire

Matron

Now, looking back what did I hope for?

Now, all my life what did I grope for?

My life is blank,

My words are frank:

I did my share

But found no care

Now, what is left is an enigma

And still my age remains my stigma

Ye maids and mothers please beware

To set you right I must declare

That youth and age cannot compare

The end may force you to despair

Thank you Debi Ennis Binder for the inspiration for this poem. The middle part (Mother) I wrote in answer to a challenge she set me — re a riddle in her WIP.

© HMH, 2021