|
Agnes McDonald is a Wilmington poet, teacher of writing, and poetry editor of CCV. Write to Agnes at amcdonald@carolcivicvoice.org. |
|
In the Garden of the Old Women
by Marjorie Hudson
For Florence
In the garden of the old women we will lay down our harps and weep as we did in Babylon for the borrowed beauty of the roadside sycamore the wonder of the neighbor's bushel gourd the pulsing shape of the heirloom apple from the nameless mountain land mislaid a century ago.
In the garden of the old women we hope for frost to kill what's ailing these old phlox to heave the handle of the broken trowel out of the earth where it has lain for lo these many months.
In the garden of old women we shall seek and find the hands that never touched our hands, the blankets never saved in cedar chests, the secret journal never kept, the unmade quilt, the recipe unremembered, the grandmother's house become a shopping mall.
In the garden of the old women I urge root, leaf and stem from borrowed seed, repose from this broken chair, work from this rusted trowel, fruit from this apple tree, wisdom from this way to know our death: my tight-lipped ancestors singing like the wind across bare yard.
Marjorie Hudson 919-542-5029 Author of Searching for Virginia Dare Revised Edition Now Available! Order from: http://www.press53.com See more about writing, teaching, and events at my new website: http://www.marjoriehudson.com/
“Let’s say there’s a scuppernong vine…” |
|
Carolina Civic Voice Arts and Humanities brings you.. Music, Film Commentary, History, Book Reviews, Philosophy and Religion, Poetry and More... |