Aldrene Nembhard, manager of Super Plus Food Store, Pavillion Mall, centre, presents a basket of groceries to Kemoy Morgan, left, and her mother Lorraine Dover, right.
Barbara Ellington, Features Co-ordinator
THE closing date for entries was April 27, but your poems in tribute to mothers are still coming in for what has been a very successful Mother's Day Poetry contest.
The entries from the first, second and third place winners are published below as well as pictures of the presentations by the generous sponsors.
Second place winner, Pamella Roach, who was overseas at the time of the presentation will join the other mothers and their children for Mother's Day Champagne Brunch, in the grande Jamaica suite, courtesy of the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston today.
When fourth form Wolmer's High School student, Kemoy Morgan, wrote the poem in tribute to her mother last December, she was feeling down but didn't know why. "My friends saw me in this bad mood and asked me what was wrong but I did not say," she told The Sunday Gleaner.
She read the poem to her mother one day when she noticed that her mom was having a bad day. It made her mother cry then, and again as she recalled the incident to us.
"I didn't write it for the contest but when I saw the entries in the Gleaner my mother encouraged me to enter it as a way of boosting my self-esteem," Kemoy said.
She entered and the poem emerged the winning entry.
When The Sunday Gleaner telephoned Kemoy with the news, she could not believe it, in fact she called us back to see whether someone had played a trick on her. But it was no joke.
Eleven-year-old Andrew Hall has written other poems. The somewhat shy Woodlands, Manchester, Primary School student does well in mathematics, English and science and plans to continue reading The Sunday Gleaner after his success.
Poem - TRIBUTE TO MOM
you were never regarded by your supposed maternal protector.
There was no one to even pretend they cared for you,
Hate seemed to embrace you, while love turned her back on you,
As a child.
Filled with shame and disgrace as you grew,
You struggled to keep your head from falling,
But the weight of paltriness dragged you down.
Vulnerable, you looked for love but instead were used and abused,
Showing love only to be hated in return.
Feeling like the world hated you and so did death,
You moved on.
Times grew hard and so did your heart.
You tried to smile but the muscles ached.
You tried to cry but the tears failed.
Who could understand the pain you felt
Who could comprehend the hate you tried to hid.
No one knew how hurt you were,
No one tried to hold your arm.
And then you had me.
And I knew not the kind of mother you were cut out to be.
But now when I look back,
I can really say you are the best there
ever was to me.
You never stopped loving me even when it brought pain.
You never stopped smiling,
even when it seemed weird.
You never stopped trying
even when it seemed hopeless.
You never stopped listening
even when it was deafening.
You were never mean with your love
You were never selfish with your patience.
You just never stopped being my mother
You rose above your situations and circumstances
You never became my counsellor.
While you were going through your storms
you remained my shelter.
I apologise, because I knew at times I have
been mean and heartless
And even took your love for granted;
forgive me.
To put myself in your shoes would only
bring endless, rootless heartaches.
And so I lift my hat and praise you
I also say thank you mom,
And know this too, I have never
Stopped loving you!
Kemoy Morgan
Mother: Lorraine Dover
