Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, MEMORY'S DOOR, by MARY OTTO ASHER


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

MEMORY'S DOOR, by                    
First Line: Within the sacred portals of my heart
Last Line: "I see the face of ""mother."
Subject(s): Memory; Mothers


Within the sacred portals of my heart,
Where mortal eye can never gaze, --
Is enshrined above all else apart, --
The memory of my Mother's face.

At eventide -- that quiet hour,
When sun sinks low and day is o'er, --
I long for her, I feel her power,
'Tis then I open "Memory's Door."
I am carried back to other days,
Down the cycle of the years,
When I could see my Mother's face
Through smiles and not through tears.
Through happy days -- through anxious days,
In fancy, then, I wander;
From room to room I fondly roam,
Alone, these scenes to ponder.
I see her dress, her shoes -- all worn, --
A token here and there, --
Her kitchen apron, slightly torn, --
Her book -- her vacant chair, --
Souvenirs, each one a key
To "Memory's Shrine" -- this sacred place, --
They thrill my heart -- precious to me --
They bring to me my Mother's face.

So sacred this -- her memory --
So infinitely dear,
That only God, Himself, doth see
The memories dwelling here.
And though it be the early dawn,
The noon or midnight hour,
When yearns the heart for her -- now gone,
For Mother's soothing power, --
I turn the key, pass through the door
To this "Shrine" known to none other, --
Then, here, in "Memory's Room," once more, --
I see the face of "Mother."





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