Margaret Elizabeth Wilson (mrd. Kowalk),
my maternal grandmother
The esker touches where
Mom’s mom lost touch
mistook a stranger
for a childhood cousin
and took her last supper
with four generations
Blue ruled her felt jacket
at Assisted Living
nearby the Baptist church
where blue ruled my kindergarten
after Dad’s brother preached
and Mom knelt at the altar
and the principal refused me
entrance in snow pants
covering my blue uniform dress
Outside Mom knelt
to remove one pant leg
at a time
like aides undressing Grandma
as she slipped
into her past
~ Originally published in my collection “Circle…Home” (2011). Shared today in honor of my grandmother’s birthday. Also see in her memory the poem “Not Quite the Fortnight Before Christmas” (2010).
