International Day of Care and Support
“When a mother lives in the street
and sleeps on the pavement
in front of your brownstone
you need many laws
to keep you safe.
They all say the same thing,
“Stay away.”
But when you invite her inside,
you recognize, indeed,
she is your mother,
the one who brings this breath.
She sits down by the hearth
where your grief is burning
and you give her something warm to sip
from the old iron cauldron
you’ve carefully kept from
beating too hard, like your heart.
You notice, indeed,
there are many cracks in it now.
And you remember, it was she
who gave you this bowl,
just as her mother gave it to her.
Then you discover
the only one law is required,
the one that says to every stranger,
“Welcome home.””
One Law by Alfred Lamotte
Chorlton Unitarians 