The Rocking Chair
Thump, thump, thump echoes the rocking chair.
She gazes out the window knitting.
Click, click, click.
Thump, thump, thump.
Her favorite chair.
Red and white and small enough to embrace her in peace.
Click, click, click.
Thump, thump, thump.
Born in 1903 she lived a swath of history.
The Wright Brothers flight in Kitty Hawk.
Surviving the 1906 earthquake.
Being a frightened teen during World War One.
Thump, thump, thump.
Click, click, click.
Becoming a flower in flapper days.
The Great Crash.
Married - moving into her parents home.
No jobs, little money - stress and worry.
Click, click, click.
Thump, thump. Thump.
Out of her parents and into their own flat.
Full of hope.
Brother Garrett dies.
Four children when World War Two broke out.
Her husband Joseph in the Coast Guard - worry and panic.
Her brother John in the Pacific - worry and panic.
Her brother in law Russell in the Pacific - worry and panic.
The fifth surviving child arrived six months before the war ended.
Losing her parents.
Thump, thump, thump.
Click, click, click.
Peace.
A sixth child is born.
Korean War.
The Norman Rockwell forget about it - Fifties.
Kids in school.
The Sixties and upheaval.
Direct challenges to her beliefs.
Will her sons get drafted to fight in Vietnam?
Worry and fear.
Click, click, click.
Thump, thump, thump.
Kids getting married.
Grandchildren.
The love of her life dies.
Emptiness.
Alone.
Click, click, click.
Thump, thump, thump.
Family birthdays.
Thanksgiving and Christmas visits.
Her brother John dies.
Her sister Gertrude dies.
Worry about her kids living so far away.
Worry, worry.
Click, click, click.
Thump, thump, thump.
Time passes.
Sickness arrives in various forms.
Memory is cloudy through the veil.
Is that so and so - yes, it is.
Deep sigh.
The needles fall from her hand.
Click - click.
Thump - thump.
Silence.
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