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Shy with the camera,
she stands in her white sailor dress
one arm behind her back.
Her dark eyes, so much like mine,
glance right.Her lips almost smile.
I wish I had known her then.
We’d have been friends,
going to pound suppers, singing
alto in the church choir.
She was loved as I was loved,
sheltered by Mama, strengthened
by her Papa’s expectations.
How could she have imagined ageing?
Certainly not at fourteen
and looking so lovely.
She never thought she’d grow old,
lose her memory, and depend on me,
her daughter, to care for her.
From Now Might As Well Be Then (Finishing Line Press, 2009)
Used with the author's permission.
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Glenda Council Beall grew up on a farm in southwest Georgia and graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in education. She taught elementary grades in both private and public schools before retiring to the mountains of Western Carolina to write. Glenda's work has appeared in newspapers, magazines, and literary journals, and she regularly teaches writing classes for adults; her next class will be on writing Christmas memories and will be offered Dec. 5 - 11 at John Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC. An active member of the Netwest branch of the North Carolina Writers Network, Glenda has had work published in a number of literary magazines; her new chapbook, Now Might as Well Be Then was released in 2009 and is available at bookstores everywere.
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