Collaboration between Reynaldo and Anthea

MOTHER and Baby Boy Pride and Joy and Baby Anthea and Mother is the 39th Upload of our 40/40 Collaboration a Tribute to Womanhood and our 9th upload of our fourth Mini Series Archetypes. For the next 1 upload we will be celebrating the women archetypes from the Shadow to the Warrior to the Crone to Eternal Girl to Madonna to Mother to Courtesan to Vampire to Muse to Revolutionary.

It is such a pleasure to collaborate with the brilliant and gifted artist Reynaldo because he has brilliant mind, magnificent imagination and a beautiful heart.

Please enjoy.

Paintings: Reynaldo
Drawing: Anthea
Poem: Anthea

Dimensions of Reynaldos beautiful painting
Acrylic on canvas 48×48”

Mother

Her mind incisive and fast
Her strength a mountain
Courage her middle name and her last
She taught me so much
My mother pragmatic from the start
Me philosophical by heart
When as a child I asked her what I should do?
She said I have given you a good mind,
so think for yourself.

Her intellect so penetrating
She bought her books of law
Although she never started
Her mind was insatiable
Always begging for more.
At school in her exams
She was the top 8 in her state
So clarified, so defined, articulate and wise.

She was so pretty, her hair so golden
Her features fine
My mothers name is joy
She was the same by nature
She sang to me as a baby
A voice like an angel…even more
She read to me as a child
and taught me the love of words
She drew pretty ladies
and gave me the love of feminine grace
and a passion for art.

(Thank you)

Her love of my father was passionate and rare
Their charisma together burned on my memory
My father admired and loved her so…
Admiration was the first ingredient of their love
Their IQ was identical and it was high
His inner strength danced with her courage
as his masculine beauty complimented
her feminine grace…so divine.

As a young child I witnessed their love
built on passion and respect
My dad held my sensitive heart
in his gentle hand…
My mother shaped my strength
My father taught me nurture
and unconditional love
My mother taught me to stand up
and to spread my creative and intellectual wings
She made me strong enough
so I could be sensitive always.

She possessed that rare quality: Courage
My mother was never afraid
to stand up and speak her mind
Conformity was never her mode…
Pioneer, revolutionary was more in line
and gave this to me as a birthright.
She gave me permission to flourish in
my own sunshine and not be afraid to speak
Be different and explore and live true
to my inner voice, my inner knowing…

In my early thirties I interviewed her for my
autobiography and my heart swelled with
Pride at the person she was,
the history, the story and the wisdom
she had lived and passed on.
She told me I was the sensitive one
and softness she knew needed
protection and so she challenged me to
strengthen my inside and taught
me that I must look after my inner child

(my inner child still dances)

My mother encouraged me to pursue an education
To question, to explore, to flourish
To push the boundaries of convention,
To disrupt the wrong and unjust
and to pass on my learning and wisdom
She taught me not to settle for mediocre
and strive and struggle to reach my potential.

When she saw my art begin to blossom
and the words explode from my mind as
a teenager she did not try to stop
them or control them…
With pride in her heart she encouraged
me to follow my heart and my dream
She placed no limits or restrictions
on my imagination.

Oh that I love her there can be no doubt
She was my role model of woman
and showed me the dynamic
and pure love of a woman for a man
and she chose a beauty in my father.
I admire and I adore her
Inside my heart I know she loves me too
And this is the foundation of my esteem
…a woman of intellect, brilliance and generosity
Joy so beautiful…Joy so wise

Although we do not always see eye to eye
We can communicate, challenge and provoke
and reach a better place then we started
We question each other and then we take flight
I am thankful always to my mother she taught
me acceptance of difference encouraged me to
be a freethinker and a creative…
And she taught me the best you can be in life is
kind.

by Anthea Slade