Three cheers to Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis

momma mia man date
comb the second Sunday during month of May
can be traced back to ancient Greeks and Romans
festivals held 

     to honor mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele
setting precedent for Mother's Day 
     where early Christians fancied festival 
     known as “Mothering Sunday.”

Fast forward to the early 
     twentieth century 1908 when
Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis (a social activist then,
and community organizer 

     during American Civil War) era to quieten 
grief fraught era also cited 
     as informally memorializing her mother, 
     who begot said noble men

     touring daughter 
     paying homage to woebegone 
lachrymose role with accolades 
     to endure tragedy and loss put upon 
child bearing women, 

     this event held (rain or sun)
at St Andrew's Methodist Church 
     in Grafton, West Virginia, which did quicken
in subsequent decades to formal fete, 
     where poets (like me) did open

the special occasion with ranked midshipmen
commercialization cropped as ken
be expected by the early 1920's imbolden
greeting card companies such as Hallmark gen
er rated a market (money making of course) even

though Jarvis believed companies sought profit
NOT prophet, thus misinterpreting 
     and exploiting idea of Mother's Day and met
aforementioned founder, who tried to jet
tis sin the vulgar appetite of the ole mighty dollar, 

     but her lofty ambition did get 
thwarted by mass marketing 
     the quaint idea, 
     plus she feared going in debt

and though the industry 
     (initially proposed entailed low key
acknowledgement, the originator 
     (Ann Marie Jarvis) still esteemed re
formed unsanitary living conditions with zee
 
less ness and aplomb 
set a course where greater longevity doth hum
all because, she sought to regale "mum."