Grandmothers Falling Poem by Erika Peace

There was a time way before you said hello to me.
You were tall and (short) thin and beautiful.
Make-up touched your skin with the stroke of a brush.
You were light skinned (and)
Another dark both in love
With men you’ve never even noticed.
Before I came to you and called you grandma
You were my mother and my father’s mothers.
Before you called to come to dinner
You were struggling with work, aching feet, and toes.
There was a time way before this
When you weren’t a mother or grandmother.
A time you were a kid yourself you couldn’t
Decide your dreams or your favorite ice cream.
A time when you could laugh and play
Back in Mississippi and Missouri.
Before you had a home of your own
You were dressed in your mother’s clothes
Staring back at a mirror that could stare at you
Before you were a woman you was a child too.