Sunday, April 21, 2013

My Mother's Wheelbarrow




                                             If you pass by my simple ho
If you pass by my simple home
Look close and you will find
A familiar wheelbarrow on loan
In a different style and design
Each year it waits to greet spring
When the pretty flowers grow
I hear my mother in heaven sing
When she looks down upon it so
My mother and her wheelbarrow
Everywhere could be seen
Oh what a beautiful garden show
Of flowers come every spring
So many times she used it
Around every nook and bend
It's so proud and honored to sit
Holding pretty flowers in
Many pretty, waving petunias
Each day raise their hand
Hanging over all the edges
Waving to everyone they can
Along side other flowers so gay
Color enough to dye the yard red
A blinding brilliance, a special bouquet
For my mother's wheelbarrow bed
Even the little birds are happy
As they sing upon their throne
The wheelbarrow is still merrily
Helping my mother to carry on
A rusted kinship, a piece of art
It sits in my flower garden hue
Honored to share, with a happy heart
My mother's legacy to you
@ Susie Swanson, 2019
Sadly, the little wheelbarrow has been rolled away and parked in an old shed.. It spent many years in my yard after my mother passed away.. Last year was the first year in many years I didn't get to use it.. To much wear and tear and we decided to store it away before it fell on apart.. It's amazing how sometimes the simple things can mean the most..So many people have asked what happened to it and I tell them sadly, it retired just like mama
me
                                             Look close and you will find
                                             A familiar wheelbarrow on loan
                                             In a different style and design

                                             Each year it waits to greet spring
                                             When the pretty flowers grow
                                             I hear my mother in heaven sing
                                             When she looks down upon it so

                                             My mother and her wheelbarrow
                                             Everywhere could be seen
                                             Oh what a beautiful garden show
                                             Of flowers come every spring

                                             So many times she used it
                                             Around every nook and bend
                                             It's so proud and honored to sit
                                             Holding pretty flowers in

                                             Many pretty, waving petunias
                                             Each day raise their hand
                                             Hanging over all the edges
                                             Waving to everyone they can

                                             Along side other flowers so gay
                                             Color enough to dye the yard red
                                             A blinding brilliance, a special bouquet
                                             For my mother's wheelbarrow bed

                                             Even the little birds are happy
                                             As they sing upon their throne
                                             The wheelbarrow is still merrily
                                             Helping my mother to carry on

                                             A rusted kinship, a piece of art
                                             It sits in my flower garden hue
                                             Honored to share, with a happy heart
                                             My mother's legacy to you

                                            @ Susie Swanson, 2013

Sadly, the little wheelbarrow has been rolled away and parked in an old shed.. It spent many years in my yard after my mother passed away.. Last year was the first year in many years I didn't get to use it.. To much wear and tear and we decided to store it away before it fell on apart.. It's amazing how sometimes the simple things can mean the most..So many people have asked what happened to it and I tell them sadly, it retired..
Hope you have a nice week. Blessings, Susie


20 comments:

  1. Oh Susie! What a wonderful remembrance! I know you must miss not being able to use it. We've been on the lookout for a wheelbarrow for flowers; I suppose I could use an old feed cart from the chicken house. :)

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    1. Thank you Charlotte.. Wheelbarrows are hard to find. An old feed cart would make a beautiful planter.

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  2. What a beautiful tribute to your mother Susie. You have such a wonderful way with words. I would love to see your poems published in a book. xx

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    1. Thank you Beth. I'm in the process of publishing a book now.. Should be out soon.

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  3. What a sweet memory and treasure that wheelbarrow is, Susie. I love that you chose to spotlight it in this poem. I love that photo too!

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  4. Susie,
    Did that wheelbarrow belong to your mother first? How nice of you to display it in your garden. I think your mom would like your poem today. This wheelbarrow holds many memories for you, and your mother would be pleased you carried on her tradition.

    Love,
    ~Sheri

    ps - I'm so glad you're my friend, too. :~)

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    Replies
    1. Yes it was her wheelbarrow first and it was just sitting there all alone, no one using it so I decided to put it full of flowers, knowing she would have loved that. I used it as long as I could and I miss it not being there every year. Thank you Sheri.

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  5. That's a sweet, touching poem, Susie. I know you value the things of the past that remind you of those so dear to your heart. I have an old wheelbarrow of ours planted out where I can see it from the sewing room window. The wheel fell off and it is propped up with bricks. I don't care. I just like seeing it.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much. The older they get the better they look but this one had seen better days and we chose to put it away while we could..

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  6. Such a beautiful tribute to your mother. Looking forward to your book!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Susie.. I'm looking forward to reading yours too.

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  7. Oh~ this was so beautiful, Susie!! I remember my mother using an old metal wheelbarrow dad had for pulling weeds... that sucker was so heavy, and I can't count the times I saw her pushing that thing back up our steep driveway. Thanks for sharing this sweet memory of your mother with us. ((HUGS))

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  8. Thank you Paula.. Your mother sounds like mine..Hugs to you. xoxo

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  9. Hi Susie! What a lovely poem and so beautiful! I bet your mother would be so happy to know that you used her wheelbarrow to the fullest and brought such beauty to your family and neighbors. My grandmother was the green thumb in our family, and I smile every time I see a beautiful patch of flowers and I think of her. A few years ago one of our neighbors a couple of miles away, was selling an old wooden buggy. I had dreams of putting that out by our pond and filling it with plants and flowers. Unfortunately we didn't have any way of transporting it home. The wheels on the old farm wagon were so old, it would never have survived the trip. But I still day dream of finding something like again it one day. I hope that you are feeling a little better Susie now that the warmer weather is here and that you are getting some of your strength back. I gave my niece the information you put on your blog last winter about the vitamin company you recommended and she has contacted them and started taking some of their supplements. It has really helped her pain and she is beginning to feel much better. I hope you have a lovely evening ahead and rest well! With Love, Delisa :)

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  10. Thank you so much Delisa. That old buggy sure would have been pretty..I'm so happy she started taking them and feels better.. They have worked wonders for me.. Glad you're feeling better and hope you're enjoying this beautiful spring.

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  11. that is beautiful, Susie. I love the wheelbarrow filled with flowers, makes me want to go out and find me an old one. We have a child's wheelbarrow that is broke, I could use it to put some flowers in.

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  12. I love your wheelbarrow. In a way, it reminds me of some of the other things in life like jewelry and good china that we put away to keep safe...sometimes I wonder what the point is then of having them! I wish there was a way you could preserve your mom's wheelbarrow and then be able to fill it with flowers again!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Lise.. We have it stored in a shed but eventually it may completly rust..

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