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| Joan of Arc - Gaston Bussiere |
Lá 'le Mamaí faoi mhaise! Happy Mother's Day! Best wishes to my own mother and especially to all my mother-writer friends - you are my inspiration.
I looked through my poems, trying to find a cheery poem about mothering. Um, I don't seem to have any particularly light-hearted ones. Anyway, I've decided to share this one, 'La Pucelle', which was in my collection Tattoo : Tatú. It's about Joan of Arc and her mother. It's sort of sad but it's about the love we have for our mothers.
Have a great day!
In the hush of my father’s house,
before dusk rustles over the horizon,
I take off the dress my mother made
– it’s as ruby-red as St. Michael’s cloak –
and with a slitch of linen, bind my breasts.
By the greasy light of a candle,
I shear my hair to the style of a boy,
in the looking-glass, I see my girlhood
swallowed up in a tunic and pants,
I lace them tightly to safeguard myself.
My soldiers call me ‘pucelle’, maiden,
they cleave a suit of armour to my body,
and know, when following my banner
over ramparts into Orléans, that
there will only ever be one like me.
When the pyre-flames fly up my legs,
I do not think of the Dauphin,
or my trial as a heretical pretender,
but see my mother, head bent low,
sewing a red dress for her daughter to wear.
