Courage by Lucy Coats

Mother Courage

Come walk with me.

Let's breach the bridge of years,

pluck each shaped stone of life

to hurl at stars

or hold as memory.

When I was small

the smell of you was safety.

The shape of your hands—

scarred with blood, bone and blessed Earth—

became my home as soon as held.

Your gallant rain-bowed figure,

trudging before,

became my beacon and my hope.

So dance, my Mother Courage,

come and dance,

for time is bending, braving out the wind.

Old age and I shall crown you queen of queens—

and cherish winter’s memories of spring