DEAR ABBY: Enclosed is a poem my late father wrote in 1951 for Mother's Day. I thought you might like to print it. -- PAT KIRKLAND, RENTON, WASH.
DEAR PAT: Absolutely! Your father's poem carries a strong message for children who live at a distance from their mothers. If the message is taken to heart, it should brighten Mother's Day for many a mother. Read on:
THOUGHT FOR MOTHER'S DAY
If you have a gray-haired mother
In the old home, far away,
Sit down and write the letter
You've put off from day to day.
Don't wait until your weary steps
Have reached the pearly gate,
But let her know you think of her
Before it is too late.
If you have a tender message --
A loving word to say --
Don't wait till you forget it,
But whisper it today.
Who knows what bitter memories
May haunt you if you wait;
So make your loved ones happy
Before it is too late.
The tender words unspoken,
The letters never sent,
The long forgotten messages,
The wealth of love unspent --
For those, some hearts are breaking.
For those, some loved ones wait --
So make your mother happy
Before it is too late.
-- A. ROBERTSON, SOUTH BURNABY, B.C., CANADA