by Karen R. Keen
I gave you birth.
A creative Mother, I bore you.
Making you in My image,
so you can steward the earth.
I sustain you.
With nurturing breasts, I feed you.
Nursing you with honey and grain,
see, how you thrive!
I comfort you.
With strong arms, I carry you.
Dandling you on My knees,
so you can play.
I guide you.
With an eagle’s eye, I lead you.
Bearing you on My wings,
now you can fly too.
I call to you.
A protecting hen, I cry for you.
Gathering you under My body,
if only you let me!
I look for you.
With relentless labor, I seek you.
Forgiving all, I find you.
You are My treasure.
I teach you.
With eternal wisdom, I instruct you.
Showing you how to walk,
now you know the way.
I gave you birth.
A Mother of love, I bore you.
Giving you My Spirit,
so you can love too.
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This poem draws entirely on feminine imagery of God in the Bible. See Gen 1:26–28; Deut 32:11–12, 13–14, 18; Prov 8:22–36 (God’s wisdom is personified as female in Scripture; see also Prov 9:1–6); Isa 66:12–13 (see also Isa 49:14–15); Matt 23:37; Luke 15:8–10; 1 John 4:7 (see also imagery of the Spirit giving birth in John 3:5–8, and in conjunction with Gal 5:22 where love is the fruit of the Spirit). Note: The word “dandling” comes from the NRSV translation and means bouncing a child playfully on one’s knees.