"Fly"

Cydney Edwards, 16
Chicago, IL

Grandma did it all

Oldest of 10
meant she never went to sleep until 12.
Scrub what?
Clean this.
Wash who?
They ate dinners like church congregations
and raced the street lights.
Never had too much money so they bought coats with love.

My grandma did it all.

She wanted to be a stewardess.
Had dreams of emergency exit smiles above the clouds
but they told her black didn't fly,
and so she was grounded.
Skin was her setback
but she loved being black.
Wouldn't trade it for the universe.
Said if she could change anything
she would make pockets fatter.

She did it.

Chopped cotton to Spiegels to parcels.
Showed everyone what it meant
to graduate high school.
Diploma woman with a purpose.
Positioned to do big things.
Made sure boys didn't interfere with textbooks

She did it.

Took the world by storm
but small town wasn't raining enough.
Decided Chicago was where she needed to be
and she started living.
Clouds couldn't hold her down.
And four daughters later
she was independent woman.
Husband cooked, she cleaned.
He worked, she worked harder
to make pockets even out
so that kids could go on field trips.
And so that doors wouldn't close on
grammar school dreams.

She did it all.

And now, somethin' like 1000 grandkids later.
I'm glad she decided to stay grounded.