26 Beautiful Mother's Day Poems That Will Make Mom Feel Loved
Look no further for the perfect message for your Mother's Day card.
While there are so many ways to show Mom just how much you love her on Mother’s Day — like breakfast in bed, special Mother's Day gifts, or baking a cake, just to name a few — there’s one thing that’s guaranteed to hit her right in the feels, and that’s sharing one (or more) of the best Mother’s Day poems. While you could write your customary Mother's Day card message, why not go the extra mile this year by writing down a Mother’s Day poem in the card instead?
Famous poets often wrote odes to their moms, ranging from religious Mother's Day sentiments to ones that thank Mom to others that look back at childhood and reflect on all those warm and fuzzy memories. While you could absolutely take a crack at writing a poem yourself (go for it!), it’s never a bad idea to leave it to the pros and write down one that’s a tried-and-true masterpiece. And don’t think you need to limit yourself to just greeting cards. There are lots of ways to show your love by spotlighting a famous poem. Write it on a pretty postcard for your mom to display. If she’s coming over for brunch, leave it at her place setting or greet her at the door with it written on a chalkboard. Turn it into an Instagram caption honoring Mom. Read it out loud in person or over a video call if you can't be together for the holiday. No matter how you choose to share it, there’s no wrong way to make your Mom feel loved and appreciated with a Mother’s Day poem.
“Tribute to Mother”
A picture memory brings to me;
I look across the years and see
Myself beside my mother's knee.
I feel her gentle hand restrain
My selfish moods, and know again
A child's blind sense of wrong and pain.
But wiser now,
a man gray grown,
My childhood's needs are better known.
My mother's chastening love I own.
— John Greenleaf Whittier
“To My Mother”
You too, my mother, read my rhymes
For love of unforgotten times,
And you may chance to hear once more
The little feet along the floor.
— Robert Louis Stevenson
“Sonnets Are Full of Love”
Sonnets are full of love, and this my tome
Has many sonnets: so here now shall be
One sonnet more, a love sonnet, from me
To her whose heart is my heart’s quiet home,
To my first Love, my Mother, on whose knee
I learnt love-lore that is not troublesome;
Whose service is my special dignity,
And she my loadstar while I go and come
And so because you love me, and because
I love you, Mother, I have woven a wreath
Of rhymes wherewith to crown your honored name:
In you not fourscore years can dim the flame
Of love, whose blessed glow transcends the laws
Of time and change and mortal life and death.
— Christina Rossetti
"Mother"
Your love was like moonlight
turning harsh things to beauty,
so that little wry souls
reflecting each other obliquely
as in cracked mirrors . . .
beheld in your luminous spirit
their own reflection
transfigured as in a shining stream,
and loved you for what they are not.
You are less an image in my mind
than a luster
I see you in gleams
pale as star-light on a gray wall . . .
evanescent as the reflection of a white swan
shimmering in broken water.
— Lola Ridge
“Mother o’ Mine”
If I were hanged on the highest hill,
Mother o' mine, O mother o' mine!
I know whose love would follow me still,
Mother o' mine, O mother o' mine!
If I were drowned in the deepest sea,
Mother o' mine, O mother o' mine!
I know whose tears would come down to me,
Mother o' mine, O mother o' mine!
If I were damned of body and soul,
I know whose prayers would make me whole,
Mother o' mine, O mother o' mine!
— Rudyard Kipling
"Wonderful Mother"
God made a wonderful mother,
A mother who never grows old;
He made her smile of the sunshine,
And He molded her heart of pure gold;
In her eyes He placed bright shining stars,
In her cheeks fair roses you see;
God made a wonderful mother,
And He gave that dear mother to me.
— Pat O'Reilly
"Only One Mother"
Hundreds of stars in the pretty sky,
Hundreds of shells on the shore together,
Hundreds of birds that go singing by,
Hundreds of lambs in the sunny weather.
Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn,
Hundreds of bees in the purple clover,
Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn,
But only one mother the wide world over.
— George Cooper
"Mother"
The water of her womb, your first home
The body she pulled apart to welcome you to the world.
The spirit in you she helped grow with all she knew.
The heart that she gave you when yours fell apart.
You are her soft miracle.
So she gave you her eyes to see the best in the worst.
You carry your mother in your eyes.
Make her proud of all she watches you do.
— Nikita Gill
"I Will Have to Wait Until I'm a Mother"
i struggle so deeply
to understand
how someone can
pour their entire soul
blood and energy
into someone
without wanting
anything in
return
— Rupi Kaur
"Everything Mom"
How did you find the energy, Mom
To do all the things you did,
To be teacher, nurse and counselor
To me, when I was a kid.
How did you do it all, Mom
Be a chauffeur, cook and friend?
Yet find time to be a playmate,
I just can’t comprehend.
I see now it was love, Mom
That made you come whenever I’d call,
Your inexhaustible love, Mom
And I thank you for it all.
— Joanna Fuchs
"A Mother"
A mother wraps her love
around the heart of her child,
keeping each beat steady
through the rhythm of life
until wings take shape
and it's time for the soul
to take flight.
— Christy Ann Martine
"My Heart"
She's always been there for me.
Just talking to her can make me happy.
She tells me of the hard times she's been through
In hopes that I won't go through them, too.
She's an independent woman of stature and grace.
She has beautiful eyes and a lovely face,
An audacious strength from deep inside.
In her I know I can confide.
She's my guardian angel who'll always be
A very special part of me.
She takes pride in caring for her kin.
She gives us hope and things to believe in.
If I didn't have her there for me,
I wouldn't be half the woman I turned out to be.
— Sharlynn N. Manning
"Dear Mother"
I'm writing you to tell you that I love you
Something I hardly ever do.
I never tell you enough how much I love you and
It's something I must do.
I need to let you know mother how much
You really mean to me
So I'm telling you now you mean the world to me.
I need to thank you for all you do for me.
Your unconditional love toward me means a lot to me.
You've never turned your back on me and
I know it's something you'll never do.
Anytime I need someone to talk to
You're always there to help me through
And anytime I need a favor you always seem
To be there, too
There's nothing in this world that I could do
To pay you back for all you do.
When God gave me to you,
That's the best thing he could ever do,
So this poem is dedicated to you
Because I don't know how else to say
Thank You.
— Herman Vymislicky
"What 'Mother' Means"
"Mother" is such a simple word,
But to me there’s meaning seldom heard.
For everything I am today,
My mother’s love showed me the way.
I’ll love my mother all my days,
For enriching my life in so many ways.
She set me straight and then set me free,
And that’s what the word "mother" means to me.
— Karl Fuchs
"M - O - T - H - E - R"
“M” is for the million things she gave me,
“O” means only that she’s growing old,
“T” is for the tears she shed to save me,
“H” is for her heart of purest gold,
“E” is for her eyes, with love-light shining,
“R” means right, and right she’ll always be,
Put them all together, they spell “MOTHER,”
A word that means the world to me.
— Howard Johnson
"A Mother's Love"
A Mother’s love is something
that no one can explain,
It is made of deep devotion
and of sacrifice and pain,
It is endless and unselfish
and enduring come what may,
For nothing can destroy it
or take that love away,
It is patient and forgiving
when all others are forsaking,
And it never fails or falters
— Helen Steiner Rice
"A Thank You Note"
You have told me
All the things
I need to hear
Before I knew
I needed to hear them
To be unafraid
Of all the things
I used to fear,
Before I knew
I shouldn’t fear them.
— Lang Leav
"Mother"
Your love was like moonlight
turning harsh things to beauty,
so that little wry souls
reflecting each other obliquely
as in cracked mirrors...
beheld in your luminous spirit
their own reflection,
transfigured as in a shining stream,
and loved you for what they are not.
You are less an image in my mind
I see you in gleams
pale as star-light on a gray wall...
evanescent as the reflection of a white swan
shimmering in broken water.
— Lola Ridge
"Land"
My
mother
was
my first country,
The first place I ever lived.
— Nayyirah Waheed
"To My Mother"
To-day's your natal day;
Sweet flowers I bring:
Mother, accept, I pray
My offering.
And may you happy live,
And long us bless:
Receiving as you give
Great happiness.
— Christina Rossetti
Elizabeth Berry (she/her) is the Updates Editor at the Good Housekeeping Institute where she optimizes lifestyle content across verticals. Prior to this role, she was an Editorial Assistant for Woman’s Day where she covered everything from gift guides to recipes. She also has experience fact checking commerce articles and holds a B.A. in English and Italian Studies from Connecticut College.
Shelby Deering is a lifestyle writer who specializes in decor, home tours, wellness, travel, vintage, and feel-good stories for national publications. She’s from Madison, Wisconsin, and when she’s not writing, you’ll find her running local trails, shopping flea markets, or going for walks with her husband and corgi.
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