By Christen Lee

Grandmother’s coarse salt and pepper tinged hair
Frizzy halo softens her tight bun at the back
Weary placid eyes behind gold wire-framed glasses
An open grin her greeting

She shuffles forward with her teeter-totter sway
Grandchildren weave about her legs
Giggling and dodging in their game
She as the may pole
Ribbons tightly braiding
Her heart to their own

Grandchildren endure
Cruelty, neglect and rejection
From uncaring parents
Caring not for their children

Grandmother is now parent again
Parent for her grandchildren
Her dream for this time in her life
Gone forever changed