Southern Woman

Southern Woman
(For Gran)

She was the oldest of twelve and
The only surviving.
Woman, wife, mother,
Grandmother, great-grandmother,
Nurse, companion, friend, lover. 
Many hats, many faces, and
She wore each as if it were the only. 
Work hard, work harder
Was her litany; the message
She passed on. 
She was a sinner amongst saints;
A sister amongst Sisters
With no Fathers.
A trailblazer; a rule-breaker; a heart-breaker.
She dreamed of Venice;
Reality was chicken-fried steak.
Starched white aprons, worn
Linoleum floors were
What she was taught to want. 
An invalid husband,
Two jobs, two children. 
Work hard, work harder.
Passions ignored, forgotten,
Dreams unrealized until
A granddaughter.
She saw war, and peace. 
She read War and Peace.
Her heart and her soul were
As strong as her back.
Iron spine, iron mind. 
She lost the ability
To bend years ago.
What was sturdy now is frail.
The world changes,
But she does not.  She is
A Southern woman.