Summers with Big Jo

Poetic snapshots from my great-grandmother's farm in Louisiana

Being a city girl raised in Los Angeles, these summers are the fondest of my childhood memories. On the farm, I was free to run around in nature. I loved those times. I can’t believe it was over forty-five years ago.

1. The Arrival

She always stood outside

Waiting for me.

Under a sky 

That had no end.


Lines to the past 

ran across her face. 

Grace

through many lives.

I didn't know why

they called her Big Jo,

though I believe her size 

had nothing to do with it.


2. The Runt

Tiny fit in my pocket.

I was love-struck by a kitten 

they called a runt.

We'd run about the place.

Playing, intoxicated

without being drunk.


3. The Cows

Bessie and her sisters 

were sustained by the land.

They leaned on the fence 

with confidence and ease.


Scolding command

in a Louisiana drawl,

caused the sisters to move 

with no resistance.


She said they know her

language.

I was a blank page.

I had faith in what she said.


4. The Ants

I crushed a mound.

Found it with my bare feet.

A thousand fiery bites,

heat compounded on-site.

Respite came

from a lukewarm hose.

She didn’t know 

to slow her pace,

or give me space 

to grieve.


5.  The  Nocturnes

Bulbous throats, ribbited,

Cricket legs chirped.

This church, 

I adored is a Chorus 

of Nocturnes.

Needle-nosed warriors 

Divebomb with a buzz.

A battle cry, 

a fight for survival.

One or one hundred.

Instinctively diving,

valiantly dying,

with an intentional strike.

It must've been midnight

my most trusted commander,

In a patchwork housecoat, 

with a red rusted Flit Gun 

It released a poison.

The smell was obscene

but it seemed to kill the warriors 

Until more would come 

 

6. The Last Bath

Big Jo warms water 

over the stove

I caught her smiling

as my toes wrinkled in the tub.


We knew.

We both knew.


Wheels on gravel

sounded like my heart 

starting to break and beg.

Big Jo stood waving, 

Tiny hid.

I didn’t want to leave them.

I didn’t want to say 

Goodbye 

I didn’t want to say 

Goodbye

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Of all the people ever, here we are. Thank you for sharing time with me.