Grandmother Poems
Our Grandmothers
by Maya Angelou
She lay, skin down in the moist dirt,
the canebrake rustling
with the whispers of leaves, and
loud longing of hounds and
the ransack of hunters crackling the near
branches.
She muttered, lifting her head a nod toward
freedom,
I shall not, I shall not be moved.
......
Miss Ida
by Evelyn Judy Buehler
Although she was my grandmama,
We all called her Miss Ida.
Children and grandchildren alike did succumb
To this quaint, obscure, southern custom.
In the days of gold and lavender,
Mother was "Miss," and father was "Mister."
When buttercups danced in the sun,
When skies were vaguely cinnamon.
......
Grandma Climbs
by Philip Schultz
Grandma climbs a chair to yell at God for killing
her only husband whose only crime was forgetting
where he put things. Finally, God misplaced him. Everyone
in this house is a razor, a police radio, a bulging vein.
It's too late for any of us, Grandma says to the ceiling.
She believes we are chosen to be disgraced and perplexed.
She squints at anyone who treats her like a customer, including
the toilet mirror, and twists her mouth into a deadly scheme.
Late at night I run at the mirror until I disappear. The day is over
before it begins, Grandma says, jerking the shade down over
......
Grandmother Eliza
by Nora Marks Dauenhauer
My grandmother Eliza
was the family surgeon.
Her scalpel made from a pocketknife
she kept in a couple of pinches of snoose.
She saved my life by puncturing
my festering neck twice with her knife.
She saved my brother's life twice
when his arm turned bad.
The second time she saved him
was when his shoulder turned bad.
......
Elegy: Walking the Line
by Edgar Bowers
Every month or so, Sundays, we walked the line,
The limit and the boundary. Past the sweet gum
Superb above the cabin, along the wall—
Stones gathered from the level field nearby
When first we cleared it. (Angry bumblebees
Stung the two mules. They kicked. Thirteen, I ran.)
And then the field: thread-leaf maple, deciduous
Magnolia, hybrid broom, and, further down,
In light shade, one Franklinia Alatamaha
In solstice bloom, all white, most graciously.
......
unrequited love
by jody kathleen
Unrequited Love
Prophetic-some may say
Like mother like daughter
They both stray
From the earth to present homes
Where are you now?
Some may know
The seagulls call aong the
Lost coast while I long
To be guided home
......
Holding Onto Grandpa’s Hand
by Jeffrey Pipes Guice
What’s it like to have a grandpa…
To know from where you came…
He’ll teach you about your history…
Give you his family name…
He’ll teach you to seek cover…
When there’s a storm in the air…
He’ll help you understand…
That justice isn’t always fair…
......
It’s Time To Smile
by Jeffrey Pipes Guice
I’m a Covid child...
Recognize my smile...
You’ve never seen my face...
It’s been covered for a while...
My eyes dart left...
And then to the right...
My eyes are wide open...
And full of fright...
......
My Grandma
by Jeffrey Pipes Guice
Grandma finally left
the house today...
We were all very concerned
needless to say...
She had stayed in her room
for many years...
Ever since Elvis died
she had shed many tears...
......
New Reality
by Nicholas Kolaric
I am tired,
A life has expired
A person who I deeply admired.
The future that was selected
Came when I least expected.
I don't know what tonight will be,
Little did I know that she would be free.
The sound of a rattling diesel engine
did catch my attention - I knew that machine wasn't beeping.
......
