Her Turn To Dance About
Selma Janette Estes
I was in my early
thirties the first time I met my friend
Sylvia. Our daughters were in the same grade
at school and became fast friends.
It
wasn't long before Sylvia and I were
commiserating over morning coffee and
sharing our joys and sorrows most of which
are normal for busy, thirty-something women.
Sylvia and her husband both worked, and I
had no job, so i baby sat for her for a
while, because she still had children at home
under kindergarten age. We got much closer,
and spent a lot of time together and became
fast friends.
During this time, i would
occasionally see Sylvia’s mother, who still
lived on the farm with her husband and one
son. Often times, when she stopped by
Sylvia’s, she remained in the car and
visited as it was easier than getting her
into her wheel chair and into the house.
Sylvia told me that her mom had
contracted polio when she was three years
old, but, according to Sylvia, that never
stopped her, she raised a large family,
Sylvia was the only girl, cooked, cleaned,
canned, worked in the garden, helped in the
fields upon occasion, fed "thrashers"---(a
colloquial term for neighbors who come in at
harvest time to harvest the crops), washed
clothes, ironed everything, attended church,
and loved her family.
Selma Janette
Estes, Sylvia's mom, spent her last years in
the nursing home as she required 24 hour
care. But she always loved the farm. And one
thing she always wanted to do, was to dance,
really dance.
When Sylvia called to tell
me that her beloved mother had died at the
age of 95, she couldn't even talk, and I
found it hard to talk to her... So I wrote
her this poem.
This poem belongs to
Sylvia, and speaks volumes about her beloved
mother, and the life she led and loved on
the Iowa prairie, and her most ardent
wish....
Her Turn To
Dance
She was nervous, as well
she should be. She'd never seen him
before, At least, not face to face, But
she had seen him in a million
moments, Briefly glimpsing his passage at
times.
She had suffered all the
slings and arrows That life had chosen for
her. She knew the joy of newborn life, and
the Sorrow of offering it back to the
creator. She had born the rigors of farm life
carved From the Iowa prairie and thrived on
the Stubborn strength that carving
caused. And all the while she did so with
withered limbs.
Through it all, he had been
there. He had strengthened her when she could
not go on, Wept with her when her heart was
broken. Laughed with her when she shared
The joy of the firstborn, Last born,
grandchildren, And the "greats of
life” That happens in between.
But now
she was nervous, As well she should
be, For now, at long last, This
friend, This lover, This
comforter, Would meet her face to
face, With a single question for her. And
she must answer.
Jesus asks the
question:
Shall we dance?
Karen
Payne © All rights reserved
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