The Mother, a poem.

zombiegirl

“When your mother has grown older,
When her dear, faithful eyes
no longer see life as they once did,
When her feet, grown tired,
No longer want to carry her as she walks -

Then lend her your arm in support,
Escort her with happy pleasure.
The hour will come when, weeping, you
Must accompany her on her final walk.

And if she asks you something,
Then give her an answer.
And if she asks again, then speak!
And if she asks yet again, respond to her,
Not impatiently, but with gentle calm.

And if she cannot understand you properly
Explain all to her happily.
The hour will come, the bitter hour,
When her mouth asks for nothing more.”



I found this poem very touching. The topic involves something very difficult for most of us, I would think, patience as the people who raised us begin to decline physically. Not everyone takes this well. For some people, it is too difficult. But the most surprising thing isn't regarding the words of this poem... it's who wrote it: Adolf Hitler, 1923. It's hard to imagine the person writing this poem as the evil that we know Hitler to be, but even Hitler loved his mother.

lobster

Bravo zombiegirl,
The teaching/poem . . . not the source.
Hitler was my mother (being) according to Tantram doctrine.
Many thanks :bowdown:

Zero

zombiegirl said:

It's hard to imagine the person writing this poem as the evil that we know Hitler to be, but even Hitler loved his mother.

The word evil dehumanises.

No doubt he worried, felt sad, cried, had headache and toothache too.

Not a particularly skillful poem either way.

zombiegirl

@Zero I don't necessarily disagree with you, but I do think it's probably a translation and might be slightly more eloquent in it's original version.

And yes, evil dehumanizes, that was the point of my using the word since that is how most people tend to refer to Hitler. I just find it interesting that someone who later did so much harm, could write so emphatically on a gentle topic like love for your aging mother. Sadly, it's just another example of how wrong views can blind you. We all have the capacity for love, even Hitler.

Thank you @lobster, but I should probably mention that I first heard about this poem through Ajahn Brahm in one of his videos a long time ago. He makes a reference to the poem, without actually reading it, and I just looked it up the other day. The point/teaching should really be attributed to him.

OneLifeForm

Would have never guessed the author.

Thanks for posting.

sova

That is a very beautiful poem, I think we get weirded out by the name Hitler, but it is just a name -- the individual that the name references was truly suffering, and certainly sowing some bitter seeds for himself.

So, metta for him too ^.^