"I AM" ... He Is!

I AM WHO I AM

Exodus 3:14

 

God said—

I Am

 

He was utterly

straightforward

 

Exists—

 

Is

Am

 

The most important

question

            answered

in the audible voice

of The Almighty

Himself

 

even without

the asking

 

Tell them, He told Moses

 

I Am

sent you

 

That He Is

Was

and Ever Shall Be—

 

is

 

the greatest

            manifestation

                        of our peace

 

Maude Carolan Pych       

 

Celebrating Grandmotherhood on Mother's Day



Aiden Thompson reading "The Action Bible"

 

GRANDMOTHERHOOD

(Aiden spends a weekend at Grandma's)

 

Beneath blonde covered silver strands

which cover the gray that really matters

I've learned grandmotherhood

is motherhood's just deserts

 

It's the bright red maraschino

that crowns the sweet cream of life

 

It's the reason I actually smile when in a blink

two-year-old Aiden tosses the spare roll of Scott

into the bubbly bathtub

or when he quietly tugs at the vertical blinds

when he's supposed to be horizontal

and I find panels strewn

on the floor around the porta-crib after naptime

or when he presses a mysterious button

on the TV, disabling it

so he can't watch Sprout

or his two-headed dragon friends

 

I never make much of a fuss

about bedtime or broccoli

(Mommy and Daddy can on Monday)

 

I just tousle his sandy hair

and  tell him how cute he is

how impressed I am with his new words

and how well he sings

the alphabet song all the way to "Z!"

and "Next time won't you sing with me!"

and I do

 

We go outside

I blow soap bubbles in the breeze

We run after them, laughing

as we catch or clap them in our hands

then I put him in the stroller

We go around the block

as we always do

My neighbors are surprised

as they always are

at how he's grown since they saw him last

 

"Come, Aiden.

Grandma made chocolate chippers"

After the cookies we'll read Dinky Dinosaur

then I'll put a CD in the player and we'll dance

I'll do silly steps I'd never do on the dance floor

and you can make up steps of your own

We'll make cow and lamb and crickety noises

and maybe stick our fingers in our ears

 

In the morning we'll go outside

I'll show you the golden daffodils

blooming in my garden.

They'll be trumpeting a song

only we and God can hear

 

and if we want to, Aiden

we'll sing along

 

Maude Carolan Pych

 

 

"Grandmotherhood" was written when Aiden was two-years-old. He's nine now. He does Tae Kwon Do, plays the piano, takes hip hop lessons and plays soccer. Aiden celebrated his First Communion a few weeks ago. We gave him "The Action Bible" as a present and he's been reading it over and over again. God bless you, Aiden, and God bless all my precious and wonderful grandchildren. I love you all sooooo much!

 

It'll Soon Be Mother's Day...

THE COAT

 

Mother was satisfied

with the two dresses

she alternated wearing

to her salesclerk job

at Quackenbush’s.

When she’d arrive home,

she’d change into a house dress

and hang the dress she wore

on the clothesline to air.

 

Mother was satisfied

with her old winter coat.

It was warm enough.

It didn’t matter to her

that the sleeves

were beginning to fray.

 

Whenever there was

leeway in the budget,

she bought for us.

She could wait.

She was satisfied.

 

When I turned sixteen,

my first job was at Woolworth’s.

I was paid ninety cents an hour

to work after school and Saturdays;

brought home twelve dollars a week.

I gave a portion to my father,

bought my own clothes,

paid for bus fares, lunches, books,

and saved.

 

One day I saw it

on a rack in The Mart,

a nice gray wool coat

with neatly folded unfrayed cuffs.

Nothing fancy,

just new and neat

and on sale.

 

I wrapped it for her birthday,

January eighth,

but gave it to her

in early December.

 

It was the first time

I’d given her

more than a trinket.

 

Maude Carolan

 

 

This poem was previously published in The Paterson Literary Review.