NO SUBSTITUTE

Swings for arms,
Bottles for breasts,
Advice from the 'experts'
Who think they know best.

'Binky's and monitors
And all sorts of clutter
Think they can take
The place of a mother.

Pre-schools and daycares,
And babysitters, too,
Think they can do
What mothers should do.

Oh listen, dear mother
To words that are true -
No one or nothing
Can care just like you.

Your children are blessings
Loaned from above,
More than money or things
What they need is your love.

By Cynthia Flanagan.

Above Rubies Reader from Canfield, Ohio.