The Greatest Mom

She was the sweetest thing on earth;

I knew this from my first hour of birth.

She was raised so poor she could hardly live,

But to help one in need she would freely give.

She claimed to be part Indian, but didn’t really know.

She had a German name and would tell you so.

Once scared to death by a bear in Arkansas;

Could get the whippoorwills to answer by her call.

Moved to Aley, Texas in nineteen hundred three,

A pretty, dark skinned girl with all the world to see.

Lived in the woods and on poor farms all her life;

Kept a good outlook even with the suffering and strife.

Her daddy died when she was just a child.

She helped raise her siblings while living in the wild.

She married and had a child when she was eighteen.

No one had a harder life but her sense of humor was keen.

Had seven kids in a span of twenty years.

Raised them on beans, cornbread and roastneers.

The oldest was killed by a horse on the loose.

The other six grew up in a family that was close.

She cooked breakfast at four; in the field by six.

She darned our clothes and made brooms from sticks.

Worked all day in the fields and half the night;

Never once did I hear her gripe.

Six days a week and to church on Sunday.

Then the same old routine back on Monday.

She got us raised and should have it made,

But she was never one to set in the shade.

To make ends meet she would iron for others,

She was tired and old but it didn’t seem to bother.

No matter what, her kids always came first.

She deserved the very best but sometimes got the worst.

In later years she got to do some things she liked to do.

Her earlier years of hard work and strife were through.

She never once in all these years lost her sense of humor.

And everyone who knew her would pull a joke on her.

Of all the moms I’ve known throughout the years,

There has never been one who has been so dear.

She was raised in the patches filled with cockleburrs.

The greatest mama of all — her name was Dela Wertenberger (Garner).

By Dwayne Garner