With Mother’s Day approaching, many of us are thinking about what gift to give to our mothers, or grandmothers, or wives, or other female relatives. As a writer, you can always make a gift of your art.
Poetry
Writing a poem is wonderfully personal gift. I have given poems as Christmas gifts. Know nothing about poetry? I recommend checking out books of children’s poems to introduce yourself to this writing style.
I like studying children’s poetry because I can focus on the structure, instead of the meaning, which is usually straight forward. Below are listed books that are a great introduction to a few different styles of poetry.
Rhyming poetry — A Child’s Calendar by John Updike
Free verse — Red Sings From the Treetops by Joyce Sidman
Haiku — The Cuckoo’s Haiku, The Maine Coon’s Haiku, and The Hound Dog’s Haiku by Michael J. Rosen
Acrostic poems — Winter: An Alphabet Acrostic, also Fall, Spring, Summer by Steven Schnur.
Even if you only write four lines of verse in a card, that personal touch will mean so much. (That rhymed. Mmmm … maybe I have the beginnings of a poem.)
Prose
Putting down on paper a significant event you shared with the woman you want to honor makes a thoughtful preset. Your recipient may not know how much that event meant to you so letting her know is a true gift.
I wish I had written to my grandmother how much it meant to me to spend time with her and my grandfather at their house when I was a kid. I thought she knew. It was only when I was an adult that I discovered she didn’t. She had thought my sisters and I all had a good time, but she didn’t know those visits were some of our fondest childhood memories.
Unless you are an experienced writer, I would keep your story to around 500 words. Even if it only runs to 200 words, that’s fine. Short can definitely be sweet if it delivers a story in a concise, imaginative way.
No matter what kind of writing you choose, be sure you edit it. No one writes her best story the first time. Reread and rewrite as much as you can before you give it away. Every time I reread a piece, I always find ways to improve it.
You’ve given a lot of good ideas in this post! Also, I thank you for the lists of books for reference and example.
I clicked on the haiku book first, because I am intrigued by the structure of haiku and its graceful simplicity. As I read about Michael Rosen, and looked at his picture…I realized I’d met him at his book table at the Ohioana Book Festival a few years ago. I have an autographed copy of his book, The Tale of Rescue. It’s a great book with lovely illustrations.
Thank you for the encouragement to give heartfelt words as gifts to our mothers!
I am so glad you found the lists helpful!