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for Phyllis
In a purple plum dress,
flowing to her feet,
and white whipped
cream swirled hair
topped by a pink tiara
fit for a queen,
my mother-in-law
blows out two candles
commemorating 98 years
on a chocolate frosted
orange juice cake,
and in tangerine crop pants,
I serve strawberry parfait,
slices of turkey, ham
and cheese, cherry tomatoes
and garden leafy lettuce
to coiffured church ladies
and grand, great, and great great
and we eat on brown tables
on the green grass under
the weeping birch and pine
as blue birds serenade
and the breeze cools our skin
in the scalding lemon sun.
© by Sharon Waller Knutson.
Used with the author's permission.
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Sharon Waller Knutson lives in a house her husband, Albert, built out of clay from the land on a dirt road in the middle of a wildlife habitat and open range of the Arizona desert. A retired journalist, she writes poetry for readers who don’t normally read poetry. In 2014, Sharon sold her chapbook, My Grandmother Smokes Chesterfields, to winter visitors from all over the world in a café where her husband played guitar and sang country music. Her customers told her they expected her to publish a new poetry book when they returned each year so, in 2015, she published Desert Directions, about her life in the desert. In 2016, she published They Affectionately Call Her a Dinosaur, poems about her customers and other seniors in her life who started new careers, businesses, and relationships after they retired. In 2017, she published I Did it Anyway, poems about how she broke the glass ceiling in the newspaper business in the ‘60s and ‘70s, when women were typically relegated to the society pages. Many more books followed, and now Sharon maintains an entertaining blog called Storyteller Poetry Review. Sharon and Albert (now retired from his music gig) stay busy raising assorted critters and enjoying their 11 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.
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jamvan:
so lovely and colourful - brings a smile
Posted 08/31/2021 01:06 AM
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Anastasia:
We did a party for my grandmother's 80th birthday, and it was like this! So many of her friends from the community, and he church, that we'd always heard about, and finally met. And the kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, and great-great grandkids! It was quite the day!
Posted 08/29/2021 12:22 AM
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Lori Levy:
Love all the colors in this poem. A beautiful tribute to your mother-in-law. So much beauty in one poem.
Posted 08/27/2021 02:12 PM
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Arlene Gay Levine:
Sharon's colorful words create a poem capable of transporting us to the joy of a very special day.
Posted 08/27/2021 12:13 PM
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peninsulapoet:
I love how Sharon celebrates every aspect of the human experience. Her poems are always a pleasure to read.
Posted 08/27/2021 11:05 AM
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michael escoubas:
Your poems imparts a vivid vitality of life, to this fire-cracker of a lady, Sharon. Hope to be that good when I am 98! I want to hear the bluebird's serenade.
Posted 08/27/2021 10:12 AM
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peggy.turnbull:
Rainbows are everywhere. We just have to learn how to see them. Thank you, Sharon, for showing us where to look.
Posted 08/27/2021 10:04 AM
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Larry Schug:
What this poem is saying to me is Thank god for women, including the four women poets I've read already this morning. Thank you, Sharon and Jayne.
Posted 08/27/2021 07:50 AM
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Joan:
Loved this! Wonderful poem honoring the life of your mother in law and the importance of family
Posted 08/27/2021 06:20 AM
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