In the beginning there was my mother. A shape. A shape and a force, standing in the light. You could see her energy; it was visible in the air. Against any background she stood out.

—Marilyn Krysl

About Marilyn Krysl

Marilyn Krysl (February 26, 1942 – July 4, 2024) was an American writer of short stories and poetry who is known for her quirky and witty storytelling. She has published four short story collections along with seven collections of poetry. She has won several awards for her work, including the...

More quotations tagged with “mother”

No matter how old a mother is, she watches her middle-aged children for signs of improvement.

—Florida Scott-Maxwell

optimism hope improvement mother motherhood

Certainly I can say that my own childhood was unhappy. This was due to a clash of wills between my mother and myself. My early life was a series of fierce battles, from which my mother invariably emerged the victor. If I could not be seen anywhere, she would say, "Go and find out what Bernard is doing and tell him to stop it."

—Bernard Law Montgomery

childhood victory mother battles conflict

But the mother's yearning… feels the presence of the cherished child even in the debased, degraded man.

—George Eliot

failure man mother child

A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity; it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path.

—Agatha Christie

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Out of the corner of one eye, I could see my mother. Out of the corner of the other eye, I could see her shadow on the wall, cast there by the lamplight. It was a big and solid shadow, and it looked so much like my mother that I became frightened. For I could not be sure whether for the rest of my life I would be able to tell when it was really my mother and when it was really her shadow standing between me and the rest of the world.

—Jamaica Kincaid

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History

23 Nov 2014 Added