Granny Would Whistle

Granny Would Whistle

 (Poem written for my AMAZING Granny 11/25/07

In the deep deep South of my Youth

A land of kudzu, dirt roads, catfish ponds

Rusted trucks and roadside Peach Stands,

Granny would whistle...

In a house having stood so long in the

Thick humid air that the walls seemed damp.

So old it was that there were skeleton keys,

Granny would whistle...

In the kitchen so hot from the seemingly endless preparation

Of delicacies; Fried chicken, okra, collard greens, black eyed peas

That your eyeballs would seem to sweat, even standing still

Granny would whistle...

In the chair where she'd sit with the buzzing

Of a sewing machine needle going so fast

It would make the world and your head spin.

Granny would whistle...

In the white steeple Southern Baptist Church

That was her Home away from Home

She'd sing the hymns she knew by heart and later

Granny would Whistle...

In the Joys of Births and Weddings and the

Sorrow of burying loved ones and sometimes dreams

Through all the things that life would bring

Granny would whistle...

In my heart my fondest hope is that I

Will be the sort of woman who, someday

My Grandchildren will recollect and say;

"Granny would whistle"...

Today, I bet, if I were to drop in

for the long overdue visit I could walk

in the house and I'd find her still;

by her whistle....