Grandmothers

“Grandmothers”

by Nicole Costa

This is the story

Of

The women

Of

My lineage

A tribute

To the lives

That they’ve lived

To the toughest

Ladies

And

The sacrifices made

For all

Of

The babies

So much life

Has passed

Since I’ve seen

Your beautiful faces

I’m getting older

And

Wiser

I’m now the matriarch

At this table

And

I set a place

For all

My father’s children

Mangia!

I will say our names

Three Ronnies

Damian

Rachael

Rosalie

An atopic pregnancy

Aunt Bev

And

Grandma Beverly

My daughter Percy

A double murder

Mystery

Carla

Christina

Linda

Deborah

Angelina

Great Grandma

Lucia Serena

Jacob

Mia Grace

She got your face

Ma

I will be your voice

Grandma

I will be your legs

I will carry your body

Ma

To the grave

So we were down

A man

In death

As we were in life

But don’t worry

I got you this time

Always short a man

Always doing

What we can

People finding fault

Cause they

Just don’t understand

All of the sacrifice

And

Energy

It takes

When one

Has to be both

The woman

And

The man

Fulfilling

Those little shoes

Is hard to do

Grandmothers

Trying to love

Unconditionally

While taking no bull

Black crystals

And

Butterflies

That’s you and I

Grandma

Grounded

Yet flying high

I now know why

Your totem

Is the butterfly

You dreamt of

Flying away

Many nights

And

Many days

Bound

To that chair

With your piercing

Blue eyes

Pale skin

And

Jet black hair

Now we fly higher

Then we ever

Thought we could

Speaking our truth

Like they never

Thought we would

Even when

You couldn’t walk

Grandma

Even when

You couldn’t talk

You planted

Seed thoughts

Silent warrior

On the inside

The Indian

They tried to hide

Even in death

We were

Down a man

It’s okay Ma

Cause I carried

Your casket

Like you carried me

Through life

And

Thereafter

You still

Have my back

You were the rock

The foundation

A mother

To all nations

The greatest love

I ever knew

No matter what

Life handed us

You were determined

To get through

So much love

From that

Little kitchen Ma

Sometimes

I don’t know

How you did it

You taught me

How to make

Lemonade

From rocks

And

How much power

My word holds

Without a Glock

You taught me

To persevere

I barely ever saw you

Shed a tear

But not because

You were hard

You were balanced

In the midst of

All life’s challenges

In spite of

The daily war

You chose to live

In love

And

Not to fear

Your spirit never died

You are still

The strongest presence

In my life Ma

And

You are still

Playing numbers

In the sky

Trips are the winner

Threes finding favor

I finally get

What you meant

When you said

It’s not nice

To fool

Mother Nature

You lived

By that motto

And

Honored your word

The gift

Of

The unspoken tongue

Is heard

Though the English

Was broken

Unconditional love

Was the language

That was spoken

Just one more thing

I need to understand

In that picture Ma

Who is

The Hawaiian man

I don’t even have

Your picture anymore

Because they stole

My wallet too

That picture

Was the only picture

That I

Have left of you

It was with me

Around the world

Since the morning

That you departed

But

Your memories

Are forever

Impressed

Upon my heart

I miss your face

Your cooking

Your humor

And

Your grace

You are a warrior

A survivor

A four foot tall

Miniature

Female

MacGyver

No one

Would ever know

The pain you suffered

Because you created

Your own happiness

You left this earth

With true peace

And

Bliss

Ma, I know why

You were so proud

Of

Your little house

And car

You worked so hard

For all

That it was for

You weren’t just poor

You survived

The Great Depression

Traveled

Across the world

For your independence

You sailed westbound

On the ocean

That brought you

To freedom

Statue of Liberty

Fourth of July

Ellis Island

Assimilated

For survival

I too traveled west

Carried away

From this place

By another ocean

The definition

Of

Freedom

For me

Was an entirely

Different notion

I wonder

How you felt

When leaving

Your homeland

I’m sure

There were

Loved ones

Left behind

That just didn’t

Understand

We are going big

Ladies

We’re making changes

In the world

And

Not just in

Our own backyard

The journey’s

Been long

And

It’s been hard

I am reminded

That it’s not about

The destination

It’s about embracing

Every moment

That we are given

And

Being grateful

For the life

That we are living

Even when

I felt like

All was lost

I was reminded

That I have a voice

And it came

At such a cost

The privilege

I have

To be able to talk

Blessed I AM

To have feet

To walk

Where do

I want these feet

To take me

And

How do I want

My words

To shape me

You used to sing

Que Sera Sera

To me

Whatever will be

Will be

But

I AM

The Creator

Of

My reality

Though

The darkness

And

Light

Both still exist

In duality

The grass

Is not greener

On the other side

That illusion

Can take one

For quite the ride

The grass is greenest

Where I water it

So I pause

And

Take a look

Around me

Before I sit

You are the gluten

In la famiglia wheat

Angel wings

Without feet

Though your spirits

Are always with me

Grandmothers

You both are

Greatly missed

And

I honor your names

With much respect

As I send

Six feet deep

A kiss

For each one

Of

Your beautiful cheeks

💋

Ciao!

🙏🏽

In Loving Memory

Of

The Bravest Women

I Ever Knew

Beverly Romanell(i)

March 5, 1933 - July 19, 1994

&

Angeline Lamberti (Ma)

December 19, 1923 - March 18, 2008