Poetry-Friends-and-Family

You drank hot water from a chipped mug. It was so boiling, that it would have scalded my tongue. But you loved it. I loved the Eggo waffles that I’ve never had without you; for me they are only there in your warm house, with the rain pouring behind the large window, as it often does in Olympia. I remember your soft freckled hands, the skin loose and wrinkled, but still strong, patiently untangling my wet hair with that purple comb I loved, as we looked at Ranger Rick magazines, and pictures of Mom’s diving days. You answered my millions of questions, and read me thousands of books in your rich voice, on that green plaid couch, that has since been moved from your house to mine. I curled in your lap and your loud laugh shook your large frame along with my small one, making me giggle and fold myself deeper into your well-cushioned arms until I could feel your heart against my wiry back. I didn’t know then, that someday soon that heart would fail. I wish you could see me now, Grandma, see my life and how I’ve grown. I want to show you the work that I’ve done, and together we could read the poetry that I’ve come to love. But you were gone too soon. Gone before I could say goodbye, gone before you could truly see the granddaughter you barely knew. Sayre White,13Missoula, Montana

We sat As it rained and drenched the thirsty soil We sat And laughed and talked and drank tea Seventy-seven years apart But closer than a mother and daughter We exchanged simple words Mine so young, so naive Hers wise and old and perfect I scratched the head of her dog I dreamed The dog was my brother and she was my mother But the dream never came true She was mi abuela, my grandmother Her hands were as crinkled and dry As the books she so often gave me Her body was weak But her heart was still strong Or so I thought The day I became old I learned of how she lost her will to live of how she lay there willing death to take her I screamed and cursed the earth And my world clattered down around me Instead of laughing, now I cried Why oh why did she want to die? I cried Like the rain that covered us Seemingly so long ago. Anna Lueck, 12Vashon, Washington