Legacy
I used to think Grandma
was a frail, overgrown
morning glory in early winter,
bound by gingham oven mitts
and flowery aprons, forever trapped
by brick walls
and biscuit dough.
Never a working woman, but still a hard worker.
Instead saving
tomato plants from hungry deer,
shucking corn off cobs,
and teaching me
to snap green beans during summer sunsets.
Feeding family, more
than tradition, handed
down by grandmothers
in rubber gardening gloves.
Her garden remains her legacy,
the only womanhood
she’s ever known.
Without wisdom in her hands,
there would be no biscuits to butter;
no sons or granddaughters
to keep the garden
growing for years to come.
Victoria Thompson is currently working as an Adjunct English Professor at Longwood University in Farmville, VA, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in English. Upon graduation, she acquired a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from West Virginia Wesleyan College. Her fiction has appeared in The Words Faire.