Poem of the Day: Lineage

2 / 28 / 2015

Poem of the Day: Lineage BY MARGARET WALKER My grandmothers were strong. They followed plows and bent to toil. They moved through fields sowing seed. They touched earth and grain grew. They were full of sturdiness and singing. My grandmothers were strong. My grandmothers are full of memories Smelling of soap and onions and wet clay With veins rolling roughly over quick hands They have many clean words to say. My grandmothers were strong. Why am I not as they? Margaret Walker, "Lineage" from This is My Century: New and Collected Poems. Copyright © 1989 by Margaret Walker. Reprinted by permission of University of Georgia Press. Source: This is My Century: New and Collected Poems (University of Georgia Press, 1989) MARGARET WALKER Biography  More poems by this author