No One Knows But a Mother
I am the unwilling mother,
Who gave her son to the tide,
And no one knows but a mother,
Knows of the ache inside.
Yet I am the mother also,
Who gave up her daughter to sin;
And no one knows but a mother -
Oh, no one knows but a mother,
Where the aching heart shall begin.
I am the unwilling mother,
Who gave up her son to war;
It was I who brought to the widow's cowl,
Such a blessed daughter-in-law.
Yet I am the mother also,
Who cast her kin to their fate,
And no one knows but a mother -
Oh, no one knows but a mother,
How to stand at the gate and wait.
I am the unwilling mother,
To whom wise fate decreed,
That no one but a mother,
Must provide for those who need.
Yet I am the mother also,
Whose heart must be turned to stone;
For no one knows but a mother -
Yes, no one knows but a mother,
How the wind blows seed when sown.
Michael (Walsh) 1990s