Stories Grandma Told

("Messy Outside, Messy In")

When she  was young, Grandma swiped the webs,

hunkered, shoulder to the couch,  and pushed.

Quieted dust bunnies beneath

 a cascade of coffee grounds.

Draped the broom with Grandpa's oldest teeshirt

and shoved it (straws poking out the neck) where the dry mop  wouldn't  go.

"We're no lace curtain Irish, little girl, dirt covered by fine trim

." *   *   *

(Messy Outside,  Busy In)  

In old age,  she faced the kitchen, fingers bent and still,

watching granddaughters spill their  lives in sinks of dirty dishes.

The Oreck®  Swivel and Corner Buster

     made us work faster -   gadgets and widgets, rungs on  social  ladders.

There's always more to do,  to buy   to do the things we didn't know were due.

"Get dirty," she whispered in  the end.