literature

Mama Painted Her Kitchen Floor

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ArtbySandiJohnson's avatar
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Literature Text

Mama Painted Her Kitchen Floor

my grandma painted her kitchen floor
one day-(we all called her Mama, you should know)
and called us all to see.

she balked and bucked against life’s tack
that was placed on her to wear.
I believe she wanted to run the fields
and talk with friends, kick up her heels.
but she was a farmer’s wife and mother to a brood.
mostly she held to the track laid low before her path.
but every now and then she would paint a gourd
or arrange flowers in an old glass.

mama painted her kitchen floor
one day-and called us all there, to see.
the grown ups stared and turned and turned
trying, to take it all in…
the silence hung the day.
black lines, red squiggles, orange dots
blue waves, green dashes marched in rows across the floor.
I wanted to say “I like it!”
because I really did, except the part there on the right
where you could see she’d gotten tired and rushed.
but I was only 13 that year, to be seen and not be heard.
I don’t remember, now, what they said
only the hanging of the silence in the room,
and wishing I  could tell her how neat it was
my grandma had painted her kitchen floor one day for all of us to see.
....well, she did, and it was very colorful....she had an unrealised artistic streak.......
© 2008 - 2024 ArtbySandiJohnson
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JennMermaid's avatar
any photos by chance of the kitchen floor?

One of the best poems by far. :) So simple and yet you can see it in your head!