Carmen

I was lucky to grow up with very strong women in my life. My grandmothers were total opposites, yet both had a tenacity and spirit that I strive for to this day. 

My maternal grandmother, Carmen, was an interesting woman. Moving at mach speed with her hair on fire, tucking us into bed so tight you couldn't move your arms, and dealing with life on her terms, she taught me a lot. She proudly shared her heritage and that of my grandfather. She grounded us in the past with her stories and sent us off into the future with a secure sense of ourselves.

Her birthday is tomorrow, March 26 - she would have been 97. I wrote this poem shortly after her passing. Although she never took guff from anyone...her life was always in a state of disagreement.

The Argument

You came into this world

riding on an argument.

You dealt with life on your terms,

the argument fueled your fire,

until it turned bitter.

You struggled through the joke,

you cackled, smoked and drank grasshoppers,

and the argument began to fade.

You loved us fiercely,

tucked us in tightly,

and the argument became but a whisper.

You left us with rain on our faces,

dead leaves clinging to the soles of our shoes,

the argument nothing but a memory.