Happy Mother’s Day to a Dear Aunt

Happy Mother’s Day to a Dear Aunt

Happy Mother’s Day to a dear aunt,
As loving as a mother ought to be,
Pleased to act when parents won’t or can’t,
Pleased to act when moms go out to sea.
Yet yearning cannot make an aunt a mother,
Melding aptitude with milk and blood.
One finds joy in giving joy to others;
The other has her joy, if she but would.
Heaven knows the way across the darkness,
Enduring through all manner of regret,
Returning, turning to the fount of stillness
‘Mid mountains of accumulated debt.
So may you this day be satisfied
Despite the grace that fortune has denied,
Alive with love, both given and returned,
Yet blessed with nothing less than you have earned.