Happy Birthday Grandma

A birthday poem from one of the greatest women ever....

Happy Birthday Grandma; Ms. Victoria McKie,
there aren’t words enough to write our storied history,
you passed in ’85 when I was just a crazy child,
the love you showed me never wavered plus you stayed with smiles,

for me whenever I got into trouble; it’s profound,
at 6 years old remember when I burned the kitchen down?
While everybody whooped me for that fire WE were straight,
you held me after ev’ry beating; said it’d be ok.

Eventually it was but didn’t stay that way for long,
the diabetes had you sick; I couldn’t stay along,
with you inside the hospital and ma’am it tore me up,
to not be at your side while ev’rything was goin nuts.

The pictures of your funeral are sharp inside my mind,
at 9 years old I couldn’t comprehend your time to die,
I had so many questions such as why do some deserve,
to have their life accosted; didn’t speak a mum’bling word.

I could’ve used your wisdom love and patience growing up,
from being stressed in school to being sick and throwing up,
to being so misunderstood by people that you know,
to put it in the simplest terms I'm sad you had to go.

Today though we will celebrate the honor of your birth,
you had 6 kids and of the 6 my momma was your first,
we all still love and miss you; it's been almost 30 years,
and as I sit and write this I'm consumed by hurting tears....

©2013
The Cunning Linguist

Author's Note

This piece was written in 2013 as a birthday greeting to my maternal grandmother, Ms. Victoria McKie. She died in 1985 when I just 9 years old, and I've never forgotten her, even as my 39th birthday approaches. R.I.P. Grandma....