A Martyr in Lace and Five and Dime Cologne

Grandmother taught us
tradition matters in that
it must be passed on from
one generation to another;
she showed us the old-world
ways of baking, healing,
story-telling and nurturing.

Grandmother's apron was a symbol
of her time, it gave her the status
of good-housekeeping woman,
elbows deep in flour, pies baked
from scratch, polishing the silver
to be put away in its mahogany box,
scrubbing and waxing floors till
her knuckles bled.

Grandmother was a martyr in lace
and five and dime cologne,
telling everyone she met that her
husband died many years ago,
leaving her with five small children
who grew up and did well.

Grandmother saved Saturdays for us,
as her grandchildren she would
treat us with a ride on the bus to
Downtown and a lunch where we ordered
club sandwiches and coffee with plenty
of cream----feeling very grown-up.

Grandmother is gone, but her ways
are not forgotten.