Tribute Poem

Since I AM an Old Lady

I won’t wear red

Me in my tamte hat at the holiday baking day in 2011 / from Peterson photo archive

Unless it's my Boy Scouts jacket
My Tamte Hat — there are three
A gift from my mother to my two sisters and me
Red corduroy pants and Red-laced boots.

For special occasions,
I’ll wear the hand-embroidered jacket
my eldest sister gave to me.

If I look like a gnome
that’s fine with me.
The urge to grin
has burned inside me
As a Mater of pride.

I’ll leave my salad days on the lawn
where long ago
I slinked through Green forests
to spy on harts or skunks of wild life.

Only once, was I spelled by the Pink promise
of a lady slipper’s long life.

I’ll settle for Brown
cuddly and warm
layered with Maroon.
They remind me of fires
on wintry afternoons.

I’ll wear the rest of the rainbow
at work,
so people can catch…