You know nothing

 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