Meandering Memories of an Old Woman

Never owned China nor a silver tea set
never collected expensive crystal
          nor owned a hutch to put them on display.
Never had a butler with his nose up in the air.

My house never had a second story
with a spiral staircase going up
          to ten bedrooms or more
          each with its own bath and balcony
          and one with a hottub
nor a GRAND entrance with a waterfall
and pillars trimmed in gold
rooming a GRAND piano played by a
GRAND master pianist.

Never lived by the sea nor overlooking Central Park
never owned a summer home
            winter home
            a home in the south of France
            nor a castle in the British Isles.

Never hired a housekeeper nor a chef -
            still looking for the dustcloth
            and learning how to cook.

Never sailed the seven seas nor flew aboard the Concorde,
took a cruise, saw the GRAND Canyon or Niagra Falls.
Never shopped in the GRAND stores along Fifth Avenue
              but, rode a city bus along that route - got lost

Never owned a shiny, new Cadillac or convertible
              nor ridden in a hearse
but have partied in a limo once or twice...that was nice.

Never earned six figures but was sure proud of my five
which kept me at struggling middle class
              which I managed to survive.

BUT, I have stopped to smell the roses and the lilacs
walked into a church to pray, inspired others to do so, too
saved a toddler from drowning in a river one August afternoon
and I have gloriously and passionately loved but then miserably lost...
              . . .over and over and over again.

I have visited The Wall and looked beyond Lincoln
out over the Mall to the Washington Monument
watched the eternal flame flicker and dance
over the concrete grave of John F. Kennedy
          paid tribute to the dead
          on a knoll at Arlington.

I have splashed in the surf of the Atlantic Ocean
and tasted the salty water of the Gulf of Mexico
felt the awesome power of the waves pounding to shore
and was intrigued by the absolute beauty
of the most incredible entity on this magnificent planet.

I have bonded with babies and known their growth
seen angels on this earthly side, a sight allowed only a few
communed with nature, felt the connection to all living things
brought warmth and laughter to many;

and as my years on this Earth wind down, I know
          it has been GRAND
and what now I reap is what I sowed.