December 2016
Mary McCarthy
mmccarthy161@gmail.com
mmccarthy161@gmail.com
I have always been a writer, but spent most of my working life as a Registered Nurse. Now I live quietly and devote my time to reading, writing and drawing, and enjoying the vibrant communities of writers found through the internet. I have had work published in many online and print journals, including Gnarled Oak, Silver Birch Press, Third Wednesday and Earth's Daughters, and have been a Pushcart nominee.
Grandfather Grandmother
He brought her wedding diamonds across
The Atlantic in his left boot heel
They were all flawed
But beautiful enough
When he married the baker’s daughter
And they stood together
Solemn and proud
Unsmiling for that most important photograph
Solid bodies and rough hands
Uneasy in silk and lace
The delicate flowers and fine cloth
Ready to evaporate like fog
Leaving them behind
Essential and plain as stone
Standing together among the last
To wear such quiet
Self possession
Looking older than they could have been
In the gentle brown tints of that lost time
Before the Great War
When such faces were
Still possible
He brought her wedding diamonds across
The Atlantic in his left boot heel
They were all flawed
But beautiful enough
When he married the baker’s daughter
And they stood together
Solemn and proud
Unsmiling for that most important photograph
Solid bodies and rough hands
Uneasy in silk and lace
The delicate flowers and fine cloth
Ready to evaporate like fog
Leaving them behind
Essential and plain as stone
Standing together among the last
To wear such quiet
Self possession
Looking older than they could have been
In the gentle brown tints of that lost time
Before the Great War
When such faces were
Still possible
©2016 Mary McCarthy
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