SUMMER

 

I savor the blue-diamond mountains

unfurling like bolts of denim,

emerald fields of corn  pop up

beside Hyatt-Mill Creek

babbling past Holcomb's Farm

as black angus cattle graze

in celery-colored pastures.

Monarch butterflies flit

and dip on knockout roses,

the bluebirds sing cheerful

ballads in the piney woods.

On this summer day,

sunbeams burst through the clouds

and dance across Lake Chatuge

sparkling with a thousand diamonds,

I wade through the icy waters.

                --Brenda Kay Ledford

Reagan's Tea Party

 

My great-niece, Reagan Blanche, had a tea party with her friends at Grandma Barbara's house.  Little Reagan invited the characters from Sesame Street along with Minnie Mouse to the party.

Reagan served cookies and chips to her guests in Grandma's china decorated with strawberries.  Reagan and the animals sang "Happy Birthday" to Minnie Mouse.  She smiled and her big pink bow bobbed on her  head. 

Little Reagan had a lot of  fun with her friends.  She graduated from Kindergarten this year and was so happy to receive her diploma.  Besides having a tea party with her animal friends, she and Grandma are enjoying reading a lot of exciting picture books.  

Reagan is growing up too quickly.  It seems only yesterday she was a baby, and I was holding her in my arms singing to her.  

I hope my blogger friends are having a lot of fun this summer with their children and grandchildren, nieces or nephews.

Mama's Love Offering

 

Mama preserved the flavors

of the mountains with work-worn hands.

Standing over the wood stove,

she made blackberry jelly,

sweat ran down her face.

Gathering corn from the field,

serving roasting ears

with fresh churned butter.

A mess of poke salad

fried with scrambled eggs

gave her kids springtime energy,

ramps were served on the side.

Her handiwork filled the pantry,

white runner beans, sour kraut,

and sweet, juicy peaches sparkled

like gold in canning jars.

When Jack Frost sketched

lace on the windowpanes,

and snowflakes played tag,

Mama opened a jar of love.

       --Brenda Kay Ledford

This poem appeared in the June/July/August 2021 issue

West End Poets Newsletter