#653 berry patch roots

i saw power
i'm surrounded by power
a dad that worked 9-5 for guys that disrespected him
worked to put groceries in the fridge and cupbords
and taught the power of satisfaction in a job well done
not taught with words but with life
i saw power
a mother who added water to the last bit of stubborn no-name ketchup
that clung to the plastic
she convinced it to come out
the night before grocery day
she added it to a huge hearty casserole built from nothing
i saw power
surrounded by brothers and a sister
who entertained each other with sticks and rocks
played in mud-piles and frog ponds
who shared 1 tv, and twice as may channels
i saw power
a grandmother who managed stairs without knees
after a life of ten kids and 50-plus grandkids
a life overflowing with love and empty of money
success wasn't a fat pay cheque
success was being proud of yourself and your actions when you humbled yourself each night at the foot end side of the bed
and happiness was knowing your family was alive and safe
i saw power
a big brother who paved roads through puberty and insecurity
and managed to remember us all through his teenage years
through the dark high school years
then decades later returned to finish what was started
i saw power
brothers who stayed home in the dark to avoid the scary light of society
grow up to be teachers and speakers and managers
managing the fear looking back from the mirror
i saw power
a brother
growing up picked on and kicked on who wouldn't tell
who found empathy for his abusers, explanations and justifications
who believes in justice every tic of every toc on every clock
i saw power
a sister
small in size, mammoth in character
who grew up behind five boys
a sister who, broke pine, steps tall, front of the line
i saw power
another grandmother
who lived a life of devotion and sacrifice
who loved knowing details of the lives of her kids and theirs
i saw power
a grandfather
who invented flyswatters made out of 3-owner thin shoe souls
who had no thing but new he didn't have "nothing"
married a english teacher who understood that two negatives make a positive
meaning, no matter how many bad things, if you stayed even, it was all good
a grandfather who found in everything, a reason to whistle
because happiness was a berry patch full of berries and empty of noise
i saw power
i'm surrounded by power