You know nothing
You can look at her and see an old woman
yet old for you is over thirty
very old then
In your youth
You have the things you look forward to
getting your license
being able to drink alchol without fake ID
leaving the wasteland of high school
starting a life
having your own place
going to college
travelling
sex
falling in love
being your own person
not having your parents’ rules
You know nothing
You talk of your grandmother
maybe with affection
certainly with condescension
she doesn’t know technology, scandalous
You ungrateful snot
she wore day dresses, thin cotton, almost transparent
cheap and shapeless
they were all she could afford
if the kids were to eat
they hid her sexuality and her dreams
her hands are wrinkled and chapped
from washing dishes and washing clothes
there were no machines
she traveled once and has photos in an album
you laugh at her and say everything is digital now
instead of wondering how she managed to save
money to take a bus across the country
how she dreamed of seeing the world
and dancing the night away
of being free to be herself
No, she does not know your technology
she doesn’t want to learn
she is tired and her back aches
she wonders when it will be her turn
to be her own person
(c)2022 By Catherine Elder
