How to Use Your Grandmother Hands
by Kellie Brown
Grip the rough hoe to furrow
a row in the parched garden dirt.
Ply the smooth dough to craft
a crust for the chocolate meringue pie.
Grasp the small hand to lead
a dash across the busy trafficked road.
Turn the foxed page to recite
a tale of the kitten who thought he was a mouse.
Swipe the long thumb to clear
a tear from a bee’s stinging strike.
Guide the sheer cloth to fashion
a dress for a first piano recital.
Move the blue game piece to advance
a square toward a grand Pollyanna win.
Brush back the white veil to kiss
a flushed cheek on her blessed wedding day.
Cradle the blue bundle to welcome
a great-grandson christened with your family name.
Still both.
Rest from all labors.
Inhale. Exhale. Ascend.
Dr. Kellie Brown is a violinist, conductor, music educator, poet and award-winning writer of the book The Sound of Hope: Music as Solace, Resistance and Salvation during the Holocaust and World War II. Her words have appeared in The Galway Review, Earth & Altar, Amethyst Review, Psaltery & Lyre, Still, The Primer, Writerly, and others. More information about her and her writing can be found at www.kelliedbrown.com.
