1
The quilt in Nana’s house had blue flowers
on a white background, smelled of soap
and fresh air, straight from the clothesline
2
Nana could never sit straight, Parkinson’s
robbed her of posture and speech, shaking
hands in the lap of her blue flowered dress
3
Hollyhocks grew by my grandparent’s house,
blue flowers on tall vines tied to a trellis
to keep them from bending over like Nana
4
I knew Nana was dead, listened
to relatives’ low whispers, while I
curled up under her blue flowered quilt
5
I was led by an aunt to the open casket,
my hand trapped in hers like a cotton claw;
Nana was wearing a dress with blue flowers
