A Critique of our Old Mothers - Kevin Henning

To grandmas working day and night to feed

her grandkids mounds of meals, who kneels

on crippled knees of hers all while she feels

immense degrees that gnaw at skin to bleed

from oven’s heat. “Away You’ll stay to read

and learn” you say so their brains gain ideals

they’ll need to succeed but only reveals

to grandmothers burnt. For kids to succeed

they need the kind of mind you only find

on crippled knees. Don’t let them stay away

or blind them from the pain you kept behind

the line, or else they will not gain a way

away from working night and day. They’ll grind

their crippled limbs and say, “Away you stay!”