Ben goes shopping. (For larger image, dbl. click on photo.)
The Reading Mother

~

I had a Mother who read to me

Sagas of pirates who scoured the sea,

Cutlasses clenched in their yellowed teeth,

"Blackbirds" stowed in the hold beneath.

~

I had a Mother who read me lays

Of ancient and gallant and golden days;

Stories of Marmion and Ivanhoe,

Which every boy has a right to know.

~

I had a Mother who read me tales

Of Gelert the hound of the hills of Wales,

True to his trust till his tragic death,

Faithfulness blent with his final breath.

~

I had a Mother who read me the things

That wholesome life to the boy heart brings ~

Stories that stir with an upward touch,

Oh, that each Mother of boys were such!

~

You may have tangible wealth untold:

Chests of jewels and coffers of gold,

Richer than I, you can never be ~

For I had a Mother who read to me.

~ Strickland Gillilan, American poet (1869 - 1954)