Sweet Perfume

HER GARDEN
Work in her garden every day
To her was just like child’s play
Shallow rows to hold the seed
Paper pads on which she kneed
Spade and shovel by her side
A length of string as her guide
Flats of flowers, packs of seeds
And things to battle all the weeds
She loved the smell of [...]

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She was a poem

HER ESSENCE
After she was gone
I found scraps of paper
everywhere.
Each piece torn
from whatever was at hand
when thoughts possessed her mind,
or touched her heart.
Little reminders
jotted down when senses
stirred her to capture
a piece of beauty
or a [...]

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A brave woman

This is information I have collected for a poem. I have put it here as a quick essay.
STICK WOMAN
She shuffled along slowly, her leathered
feet kicking up dust with each step. Her back
bent under the weight of a load of sticks.
That was To-ka-map-map-e, woman of the Nez Perce
who attained a niche in the [...]

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A poem in the Doriece form

TRUE BLISS
Mothers, daughters,
And sisters, too,
Can win one’s heart
By what they do.
I’ll not forget
Mom’s love for me.
I count it as
Her legacy.
Daughters, sisters,
All passed the test.
I love each one,
But here’s the best –
Granddaughters, four,
That I can kiss,
And hold real close,
Now that’s true bliss.
9/10/94 Phyllis DeWitt VanVleck
4′th … Arkansas NPD [...]

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Get the tweezers, quick

A HIRSUTE HORROR
Long hair is definitely in
But not when it’s on my chin
Although this one curls
It’s not good for girls
So of course, it causes chagrin
08/1990 – Phyllis DeWitt-VanVleck

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The stages of a daughter

MY BUTTERFLY
I walked into her bedroom
Just the other day
And saw the stages of her life
In careless disarray
I stood there in the doorway
And with nostalgic sighs
I viewed the contradictions
Spread before my eyes
Around the room where Nursery Rhymes
Once hung upon the wall
Are posters of recording stars
I cannot list them all
But still in [...]

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